One Piece: Altered Tides
by soundestguitar
Summary: What if the time and space between Luffy and Robin was just a little bit closer together, and the two happened to meet at their young ages? Inspired by xox1melly1xox's fan comic, 'Parallel'. Enjoy! :)
1. The Straw-Hat Boy and The Demon Child

**_The Straw-Hat Boy and The Demon Child_**

 **"I WANNA GO HOME!"** That little outburst earned a seven year old Monkey D. Luffy a large bump on the top of his head, curtesy of his hard-boiled Marine Vice Admiral Grandfather, Monkey D. Garp.

"I won't stop telling you, Luffy! We're not going back until I get that stupid idea of being a pirate out of your head, once and for all!" Garp roared, loud enough for not only his grandson, but the rest of his men on deck to hear.

"It's not a stupid idea! Shanks saved my life and I promised I'd become a better pirate than him! I'd become the Pirate King! This hat is proof!" Luffy pulled down his treasured straw hat on top of his head, clinging to it as much as his childish resolve to become a pirate.

Garp gave a tired sigh. "I'm grateful that Shanks saved your life, no doubt about that, but he didn't have to go and poison your mind like that right after! Probably his plan all along I'll bet. Save your life, then turn you against me…" Garp started to murmur to himself.

Before he could delve any further into his imagined plot, a dull pain appeared in his leg. Now hopping on one leg, it just so happened that Luffy had kicked him in his shin. "Don't talk about Shanks like that!" The young boy bellowed.

Some of the soldiers watching on deck couldn't help but chuckle under their breaths at the spectacle before them. Their humor died immediately when they caught the sight of Garp revealing a very angry expression. The next thing that happens, Garp grabs Luffy by his cheek and lifts him in the air, only for the boy's cheek to stretch by a meter before Luffy is carried with it.

"And he had to go and get you cursed and all!" Gary fumed as he pulled at Luffy's rubbery cheek, bouncing him up and down like a yo-yo. The marine soldiers onboard still couldn't fathom it; a seven year old boy eating a devil fruit that turned him into a rubber boy.

"I ate that fruit by myself! Shanks tried to make me spit it up!" Duffy managed to get out, even though half of his face was being stretched and bounced around.

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Garp was starting to lose what patience he had left. One more word about 'Shanks' or 'Pirates' or, heaven forbid, 'Pirate King' and he was going to give his grandson a hit so bad-

"U-uh,sir?"

 **"WHAT?!"**

The brave soldier that dared to approach a raging Garp, who was close to foaming at the mouth no less, leaped back a small distance in fear. Seeing this, Garp regained himself and stood straight in authority, still clinging on to a struggling Luffy's rubber cheek.

"U-uh…" The soldier came out of his surprise and stood at attention, making an effort to not look at the poor boy stuck in his captains grasp. "…We have just in informed by our lookout that Ohara is starting to come into vision."

"Excellent!" Garp finally let go of Luffy, causing the boy to fall to a painful slam on the floor. "Make ready to dock and assemble the men!" Garp gave his orders, which all the men under his command were more than happy to follow. He was Garp the Hero after all, the man who went up against the former Pirate King, Gold Roger, on a regular basis, and brought in many a wanted pirate and bandit in his day, and was still going strong, with no intention of stopping now.

He truly was an inspiration to his men, and many others in the Navy.

Luffy managed to pick himself up off the floor and started rubbing his sore areas from his fall. "Where are we going anyway, Grandpa?"

"The Island of Ohara," Garp answered, stepping toward the bow of the ship to get a view of their destination.",Where the Tree of Knowledge grows in the centre of the island itself."

Luffy walked up next to his Grandpa and looked out over the horizon. The sight he saw blew his mind.

Woooooooooow…! Luffy expressed his amazement. "That's a huge tree!"

It was indeed. A giant tree, standing high into the sky, it's large flourish of branches and leaves sheltering the island it grew upon, like a giant umbrella. Upon closer inspection, the lower half of the tree, where the roots met the ground, was covered in houses and buildings. The tree itself seemed to be hollowed out as well, the trunk it being littered with what looked like windows.

"What are we doing here, Grandpa?" Luffy asked excitedly, making his vice admiral elder look at him and crack a large smile at his enthusiasm.

"We're looking for two wanted criminals, Luffy." Garp looked back at the island, a distant look in his eye.

" ** _Nico Olivia_** and **_Jaguar D. Saul._** "

"Are they pirates?" Luffy asked, exited at the notion of meeting more pirates than just Shanks.

"No," Garp shot down immediately, sounding more serious then he was before. "But they're two people I intend to ask some very important questions."

"Why? What questions?" Luffy pouted.

Garp kept looking at the island before them. "Sorry, Luffy, can't tell you. Classified business." He then turned and gave him a smile, wanting to change the subject. "You can learn all about that when you're a Marine!"

Luffy then puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. "How many times have I got to tell you, Grandpa?! **_I'm not gonna be a Marine!_** "

Garp took on his angry face once more, his shadow looming over a now very frightened Luffy.

"And how many times have I got to tell **_you_** , Luffy? **YOU'RE GONNA BE A MARINE AND LIKE IT!** "

The sound of a loud bonk and the scream of a child echoed across the ship and the sea for many to hear.

* * *

In the middle of a large forest, sitting on a tree stump, a little dark haired girl wearing a ragged brown dress, looked up from her book, catching the sound of what could have been a small creature in pain. After not hearing the sound again for a while, the girl returned to her book.

Unknown to her, rustling in some bushes, a group of kids are staring at her.

"There's that weird girl again." One of the boys mutters.

"Yeah, everybody around here calls her a monster, even the grown ups." A girl murmurs back.

"All she does is read all day. What a freak!" Another boy spitefully comments.

The last boy of the four gets the attention of the other kids by picking up a rock and tossing it in the air a few times.

"Let's teach her a lesson…" The boy cruelly smiles.

* * *

Once the marine vessel had made dock, every soldier there started to do there assigned duties. Hoisting the sails, weighing the anchor, all hands being on deck. Truly a sight that brings a warmth to Garp's heart, to see strong marines doing what they can to help one another, operating as a true crew.

The sound of a loud grumbling brought him out of his musings to look down at his Grandson, who had seemed to have collapsed to the ground.

"Grandpa, I'm hungry~!" The young boy whined.

Garp growled in frustration before grabbing Luffy by the back of his shirt collar.

"Luffy, you need to pay attention!" The Vice-Admiral bellowed. "If you plan on sailing out to sea, being pirate **_or_** marine, you have to make sure to look after your ship at all times,and have a crew to help you with its maintenance!"

Luffy stopped his midair thrashing around to stop and look at the marines working hard to dock the ship. The young boys eyes took on a shine of appreciation and inspiration.

"Wooooooow…" Luffy exclaimed, watching all the men work as a team, as a crew. Garp looked at his Grandson and was proud to be finally getting through to him, even if he had to mention the word **_pirate_**. What he said was true, however. Weather your'e a pirate or a marine, you have to be ready and prepared if your'e going out to sea. If not, the harsh waves of the ocean will make you pay for your negligence.

"I want to have a crew that's as loyal and awesome as anyone else in the whole world…" Luffy stated. Garp was so proud, his Grandson's words warming his heart. "…When I'm a pirate."

The good feelings were gone and his anger was back.

 ** _"Luffy…!"_** Garp was winding up for a hard right straight to his Grandson, when a marine soldier interrupted him, sparing Luffy a painful fate.

"Sir, the ship is now docked and the men await your orders!" The marine saluted.

"Ah! Wonderful!" Garp dropped his Grandson once more, approaching his crew, all of which were standing at attention.

"All right boys, listen up!" Garp instructed, all attention being on him, all apart from Luffy, who was nursing his painful areas of his latest fall.

"We have reason to believe that a marine vice admiral gone rogue by the name of Jaguar D. Saul, has made his way through the Grand Line, making his way to this, the island of Ohara!"

Murmurs among the crew began to arise. Saul was a well respected captain among the marines and the news of him going awol was more than surprising. Garp regained his mens attention with a clearing of his throat. All soldiers returned to being as stock and stern as statues, not daring to interrupted the hero of the navy again.

"As you are all aware, Saul is accused of aiding the escape of a fugitive by the name of Nico Olivia."

No murmurs came up this time, but the name of that woman was notorious. Nico Olivia was an archeologist and scholar, seeking the mystery of the ponoglyphs, ancient tablets of history that no one on in the world could hope of translating, except her.

"We have reason to believe that the two fugitives will meet up here, on this island. Our job is to find Saul and Olivia and bring them in. From there on, I will personally look in to why Saul would help a wanted criminal."

Garp couldn't fathom why Saul would help in the escape of a prisoner in the first place, but or what ever reason, Garp was sure to find out. Something wasn't right about this whole thing…

Coming out of his thoughts, Garp faced his men once more.

"Men, these our your orders! Patrol the island, find the fugitives and bring them in!"

"YESSIR!" The men spoke in union.

As the soldiers began to make there way onto the island, Garp turned to walk back to his Grandson.

"Now then, Luffy, all I have to do now is have a chat with the scholars at the library in the Tree of Knowledge. If anyone would know anything about Olivia it's them. After that, how about you and me have a nice, big-"

Garp stopped in his tracks to find that Luffy was nowhere in sight.

Lunch…"

* * *

Another loud, monstrous growl escaped Luffy's stomach.

"Uuuuuh! I'm so hungry! There's got to be somewhere to eat around here!" Duffy trudged through the forest, clutching his belly as he moaned with every step.

"Monster!"

Luffy's ears perked up at this, switching his head back and forth for where the noise came from.

"Who said that?!" He angrily snarled.

"You don't belong here!"

"What'd you say?!" Luffy clenched his fists, looking for the face of that voice so he could punch it.

"You're a freak!"

"Come out here so I can knock you out!" Luffy was gnashing his teeth at this point.

"Over here!"

"Ah-hah! Big mistake!" Luffy charged into the forest, ready to make whoever was talking to him like that sorry.

Bursting out of some bushes, he looked around and spotted a group of kids picking on a little dark haired girl, sitting on a tree stump and reading a book.

"Huh," Luffy adjusted his hat as he looked on. "They weren't making fun of me? Well, they don't even know me, so I guess-"

Luffy stopped talking to himself to see one of the kids throw a rock at the girl, hitting her straight on the head. As all the kids laughed and pointed while the girl on the stump started to bleed, Luffy was about to blow a blood vessel he was so mad.

 ** _"HEY!"_** The straw hatted boy screamed, catching the attention of the group of kids and the girl on the stump. "What's the big idea, ganging up on one girl like that?!" Luffy stomped up to the kids, fists at his side shaking in aggression.

"What's wrong with us?! What's wrong with you?! Sticking up for the monster like that?!" The one little girl of the group screeched, pointing her finger at the two of them.

"Monster?" Luffy took a minute to look at where the girl was pointing, only seeing the dark haired girl, then taking a look around him, even looking into the sky.

"I don't see any monster…" Luffy answered. All the kids looked at the straw hatted boy like he was the weirdest thing on earth.

"They mean me." Luffy looked at the dark haired girl, watching as she rubbed the blood from her forehead.

"I'm the monster." The girl on the stump said.

Luffy's eyes widened, taking in the words the girl just said.

"You're not a monster, you're a girl!" Luffy corrected.

The group of kids slid there heads to the side, wondering how stupid this kid was.

"Yes, she is!" One of the boys yelled out. "She does this weird thing with her hands, and all she does is read all day!"

"Why is having hands weird? You have hands!" Luffy corrected again.

"That's not what I mean, you stupid kid!" The group of kids were starting to lose their patience.

The little dark haired girl closed her book, making everyone look at her.

"This is what they mean…" The girl then extended out her hand and another hand sprouted out of her pam, and another, and another. Soon enough, an entire row of hands had jettisoned out of her pam and reached over to Luffy. All the other kids had recoiled in fear and disgust, wondering what she was going to do with those hands.

"That…" Luffy began to speak. "…is so…" The kids wondered what this weird kid that came out of nowhere was going to say, while the dark haired girl remained uncaring, as if she was used to this sort of thing.

 ** _"…AWESOME!"_** Luffy yelled out ecstatically. The little dark haired girl did a double take on the boy's words, while the rest of the kids had a look of complete disbelief on all their faces.

Luffy then began to poke and prod at the row of hands, going so far as to shake the one in front of him.

"That's so Cool! How can you do that? Can you show me how to do that? How many arms can you make? Can you make only arms? What about feet? Can you make feet? Oh, man, This is so-"

Luffy could have gone on and on about the dark haired girls power, who was growing very uncomfortable under the praise she was receiving, until one of the boys of the group interrupted him.

"Are you kidding me?!" Luffy looked at the kids, all of them mad at him, like he did something wrong. Whatever that thing was, Luffy didn't know.

"That's why she's a **_monster!_** " The boy yelled out, pointing at the girl's multiple hands.

"What kind of girl grows more body parts?! It's **_freaky!_** " Another boy yelled out.

"She's a **_freak!_** " The little girl of the group screeched out next.

"Yeah! Why would anyone want to be friends with a **_weirdo_** like her?!" The last boy of the group chided in.

Luffy took a few steps forward, going quiet all of a sudden. The little dark haired girl watched him, wondering what he was going to do next. Once the straw hatted boy was facing the group of kids in front of him, he began to speak.

"Your'e an **_egghead_** with glasses!" Luffy pointed to said boy, who looked taken back by the words.

"You have a **_bad afro!_** " The boy mentioned countered with a "Hey!"

"You have a **_pig nose!_** " The little girl of the group looked like she was about to cry.

"And you look like you have **_mini carrots_** sticking out of your head!" Luffy finished, earning him an angry glare from the last kid of the group.

Luffy then pointed back at the little dark haired girl while still staring down the other kids.

"Compered to her, you're the ones that are the freaks!" Luffy finished his tirade, crossing his arms with a harrumph.

The dark haired girl was speechless at what this boy was doing. No one has ever cared about her this much before, let alone stuck up for her.

As 'Bad-afro' and 'Egg-head' were stunned silent by the boy in front of them, and 'pig-nose' was crying at being called names, 'carrot-head'; the boy that threw the rock, stepped forward, easily towering over Luffy.

"Who do you think you are, calling us names like that?!" The boy ground out through his clenched teeth.

Luffy just placed his hand on top of his hat and a large toothy grin split out over his face as he looked the larger boy in the eye.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! And I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"

'Carrot-head' just stared at the boy, along with the other kids and the girl he was defending. Suddenly, 'Carrot-head' starts laughing and the other kids follow in mocking the boy as well. All except for the dark haired girl.

"'Pirate King?' You?!" 'Carrot-head' continued to laugh as the group of kids behind him began to walk up and circle the straw hatted boy, who didn't even flinch at their laughter.

"A freaky girl and a pirate wanna-be! 'Bad-afro' chuckled.

"What a pair of losers!" 'Egg-head' clutched his stomach.

"How stupid can you get?!" 'Pig-nose' sniggered.

The little dark haired girl on the other hand, just stood there in amazement. This boy, who just burst out of nowhere, defended her, called all those kids names and stated something that sounded ridiculous without any sort of hesitation. Who was this boy?

The dark haired girl was brought out of her thoughts to see 'Carrot-head' bring his face nose to nose with Luffy. The straw hatted boy was barely his height, even if they did seem close in age. Whatever the larger boy was going to do to him, it was not going to be pretty. Even so, the smaller boy didn't budge, looking 'Carrot-head' square in the eye.

"Your just a stupid kid who doesn't know what he's talking about!" 'Carrot-head' sneered. "BEAT IT!" One motion of his hand and he had knocked the smaller boy's straw hat off his head, seeing it gliding a few meters away.

 **"AAAAH! MY HAT!"** Luffy freaked out as if he had lost a limb. He ran across the field, picking it up, checking for any damage and planting it back on his head. Looking back in anger at the kids, he saw them all laughing at him again, 'Carrot-head' grinning at his own actions. By this point, Luffy had had enough.

"You bunch of jerks! You asked for it!" Luffy grabbed his shoulder and made an action of winding back, as if he was about to pitch something.

"GUM GUM…!" The laughter stopped and everyone watched to see what this boy would do next.

"…PISTOL!" The straw hat boy then lunged forward, stamping his foot on the ground and launched his clenched fist, proceeding to stretch his forearm from where he was standing and send his fist flying at 'Carrot-head'…

…Only for the fist to make contact with the ground between the two of them, ricochet off and send the fist flying in the air, high above the trees and into the blinding sunlight through the branches.

Soon enough, the fist came back down, landing right on top of Luffy's head, making the boy sound out an "OW!"

As Luffy rubbed his sore head, everyone was in complete shock. The arm that Luffy had stretched slowly slinked back to its owner, like a snake slithering across the grass, making its way back into its natural shape and form. But noting about what was just seen could be described as natural.

After Luffy was done checking for any bruises, he looked back at the group of kids and the dark haired girl, all of which were wearing faces of utter disbelief.

"What?" The rubber boy asked.

 ** _"AAAAAAAAAH!"_** The group of kids screamed in total fear. The little dark haired girl on the other hand, stood there completely dumbfounded.

"HE'S ANOTHER MONSTER!" 'Egghead' wailed.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR ARM?!" 'Bad-afro' shrieked.

"THEY'RE FREAKS! BOTH OF THEM!" 'Pig-nose' Hollered.

"THE GIRL MUST BE CONTAGIOUS! IF WE STICK AROUND, WE MIGHT TURN INTO FREAKS NEXT!" 'Carrot-head's comment sent the group of kids running, screaming and crying all the way out of the forest.

After the noise had faded away, all that was left in the open field in the middle of the forest, was the little straw hatted rubber boy and the little dark haired girl who could grow body parts.

"What a bunch of jerks!" Luffy steamed. "I don't like them! Not one bit!"

"U-um, excuse me…" The voice caught Luffy's attention. He turned to face the little dark haired girl he had stood up for.

"Yeah?" He asked, wondering what the girl wanted.

"Thank you." The girl bowed her head in gratitude, clinging to her book as she did.

"No problem! Four against one isn't a fair fight anyway!" Luffy beamed, his large toothy smile going across his face again.

Robin looked back up, her big bright blue eyes full of curiosity. "How did you stretch your arm like that?" She asked.

"Oh!" Luffy excitedly exclaimed. "I ate a Devil Fruit…" He then proceeded to grab his cheeks and pull them apart, making them extend to an inhuman length. "…And now I'm a rubber boy!" He managed to speak, even though he sounded ridiculous.

"You ate a devil fruit too?!" The girl grew surprised.

Luffy let go of his cheeks, making them snap back in place. The sound they made sounded painful, but the boy seemed not to feel it. "Yeah! I'm guessing that's how you got your powers?"

"Yeah," The girl answered. "I ate the Hana Hana Fruit."

"I ate the Gum Gum Fruit!" Luffy pronounced proudly.

The two of them couldn't help it, but a laugh broke between them. Finding someone else with as much of a weird gift as you was quite the discovery, especially when you thought you were the only one.

The little dark haired girl came out of her laughter, as did the straw hatted boy. The girl reached her hand out, wanting to shake hands.

"My name is Robin." She introduced herself.

"My name's Luffy!" The boy happily took her hand and shook it in his own. "Nice to-"

The sound of his stomach grumbling stopped him from saying anything else.

"Meat~…"

With a sigh and a tumble, Luffy found himself lying on the ground in so called agony.

"Are you alright?" She looked down in concern for the boy.

"I forgot I was so hungry…" Luffy wheezed out, acting as though he was in so much pain he couldn't move. Robin looked down at the boy, wondering how out of place his character was, even for a seven year old. He acted like he was younger then he looked.

Robin thought for a moment. What she was planning would be a big risk for her, but looking back down at the boy, the only boy to stand up for her, the only boy who could possibly be her only friend her age, it was worth the risk.

"Luffy, if you can get back up, I can find you something to eat at my house?" She politely persuaded.

The straw hatted boy immediately jumped up from his lying place and stood on his tip toes in glee.

"Really?! You mean it?!" Luffy beamed ecstatically.

"Y-yeah…" Robin was starting to grow concerned about this boy's mental state.

* * *

Robin opened the door to her house with a creak, checking if the cost was clear. Seeming that no one was home, Robin slowly opened the door the rest of the way.

"Come on." She whispered, leading the way for Luffy to follow in behind her.

Once the two children were inside, Robin lead Luffy to the kitchen. "I'll make you a sandwich." She then crossed her arms, keeping her hands open and closed her eyes. The next thing that happened, multiple hands literally started popping out of the wood work, opening cabinets and pulling out what she needs to make a snack for her guest.

"Awesome…" Luffy just turned slowly, watching the arms do their work around the room. Once everything was on the table in the middle of the room, more hands sprouted up and started making a meal.

After the sandwich was complete, the hands then quickly started to put everything away as quick as possible. Luffy was still in awe at the display and didn't notice the nervous look on robin's face.

After everything was put away, the children each took a seat at the table, Luffy happily taking large bites out of his lunch and Robin just watching him, with a hand propped up under her chin.

"You're not from here, Are you?" She deduced.

"Why ask me that?" The straw hatted boy said after swallowing a bite.

"Any one else my age on this island would just pick on me, but you didn't…" robin explained sadly.

"Oh…" The boy understood. He took another large bite out of his snack. "I came here on a ship, with my Grandpa!" Luffy said with his mouth full. Luffy kept on eating as Robin kept on asking questions.

"So, where do you live?"

"Foosha Village, on an Island in the East Blue!"

"You're from the East Blue?"

"Yeah? Is that a problem?"

"No, but…how could you go from the East Blue to the West Blue so easily?"

Luffy kept eating as he talked. "Why would that be a problem?"

Robin looked skeptical. "Well, if you live in the East Blue and this is the West Blue, you'd have to cross through the Grand Line's current, then-

Luffy spit what food he had in his mouth out at this.

 ** _"I WENT THROUGH THE GRAND LINE?!"_** Multiple hands shot out of the seat Luffy was in and slammed over his mouth, muffling anything else he had to say.

"SHHHHHH! Don't scream like that!" Robin said in a desperate whisper.

The hands disappeared, letting Luffy catch his breath. "Why not?"

"I can't let my Auntie Roji know I brought you home with me. I can't let her know I fed you either." Robin started to get depressed, and it showed, causing Luffy to grow concerned.

"Your Auntie?" Luffy asked, wanting to know what was bothering this nice girl that fed him.

Robin gave a sad nod. "My auntie beats me and calls me worthless every day. She barely feeds me and gives me old clothes to wear…" Robin was starting to replay memories in her head, all of them she wished she could abolish from her mind.

"Wow. Reminds me of my Grandpa, except the whole clothes thing…" Luffy chimed in, eating the last of his sandwich.

"Your Grandpa beats you, too?" Robin looked up in surprise. How could this boy go through such abuse and still smile so big?

"Yeah, every time I say I'm gonna be a pirate, he knocks me one on the head. It really hurts…" Luffy rubs his head, remembering some very painful memories.

"That sounds awful…" Robin says concerned. "But why do you want to be a pirate anyway? Aren't they all murderers and thieves?" She asks with curiosity.

"Shanks isn't like that!" Luffy pipes up, taking Robin by surprise. The boy then puts his hands on top of the straw hat on his head. "Shanks is a pirate that risked his life for me…" He then grows a face that resembled great guilt "…he lost an arm, saving me from a sea monster…" Robin's eyes grow wide as dinner plates. "…but that showed me that that's what **_real_** pirates do; they look out for each other, and only fight when one of their friends is in trouble!"

He then took off his hat to stare at it nostalgically. "When he was leaving, he gave me this hat and made me promise to become a pirate, that I'd find a crew, and become the Pirate King." Luffy smiled, not his big toothy grin, but a content, gentle smile.

A slam on the table brought Luffy out of his memories to see a very distraught Robin looking at him like he was crazy.

"How can you be so happy?!" She asked hysterically. "You nearly get eaten by a sea monster, watch a man lose his arm in front of you and get beaten by your own Grandfather!" She paused a moment to catch her breath. Luffy on the other hand was just sitting there, waiting patiently for what she wanted to say next.

"HOW CAN ALL OF THAT NOT BOTHER YOU?!" Robin was close to tears. She had been suffering all by herself, taking so much abuse since she was only two years old, and this boy just comes along with all this baggage and doesn't even seem to care. How?!

"Cause one day, I'm going to be big and strong enough to stop stuff like that from happening ever again!" Luffy broke out into his big toothy grin, somehow being a symbol of his resolve.

Robin was shocked still. She turned her head to stare at the table, mulling over the words spoken to her from this strange little boy.

Luffy then hopped out of his seat and walked over to Robin, who was still lost in her mind.

"Hey, Robin? You okay?" He asked, waving a hand in front of her face. Robin then shot up from her thoughts and took Luffy's hand in her own.

Robin had never heard such an aspiring thing. The only other person she could remember saying something like that would be…

Robin leaped out of her seat, surprise covering her face, while Luffy fell backwards from Robin's outburst.

"Luffy!" The dark haired girl yelled in her sudden excitement, while Luffy picked himself up off the ground, nursing his head from his fall. "I have to go somewhere, but you can't come with me!"

"Awww!" Luffy pouted. "why not?"

"I…can't tell you. I made a promise…" Robin wished she couldn't shut the boy out. He could be her only friend that was around her age with any luck.

Oh, okay!" Luffy understood.

"Just like that…?" Robin shot he head up, wondering why he was so quick to agree with her wishes.

"Yeah! If you promised, I totally understand!" Luffy stated, clinging to the hat on his head to emphasize his point.

Robin nodded, happy that he was so understanding.

Opening the back door of the kitchen, the two children made their way outside.

"I'll be back soon." Robin said before she made a dash for the forest.

"Wait!" Luffy called out, stopping the girl in her tracks to look back. "where can I find you when you get back?"

"Meet me at the library!" Robin called back.

"Okay!" Luffy agreed. "That's where my Grandpa's going anyway!"

* * *

A knock on the door caught the attention of Professor Clover, director of the Ohara library and renowned leader of archeology.

Getting up from his desk, he made his way through the library, passing his fellow scholars and archeologists.

Reaching the front door, he gladly opened it.

"Welcome to the Tree of Knowledge! How may I-"

Seeing Garp the Hero and a squad of marines behind him took the historian by great surprise,

"…Help you?"

"Professor Clover, I presume?" Garp asked, wearing a warm smile.

"Y-yes, I am." Clover stuttered.

"Excellent!" The large bearded man beamed. "I was hoping to ask you a few questions! Mind if I come in?"

Clover was reluctant to do so, but saying, 'No' would bring nothing but trouble.

"O-of Course not…" Clover opened the door wider to let the larger built man inside, along with a few marine soldiers following behind him. The rest of the marines outside marched away, leaving two to guard the other side of the door.

Closing the door, Clover looked back at Garp, his soldiers and the countless worried faces of his colleagues that scattered the library, looking his way. All of them were asking the same thing that Clover was to himself; **'Are they on to us?'**

"I've always wanted to see this library!" Garp's booming voice echoed out through the inside of the tree, bringing Clover back to reality.

"Y-Yes! It is quite the sight, isn't it?" Clover forced a smile on his features.

"Indeed! Glad I could see it before my old age catches up to me!" Garp gave a hearty laugh, not caring if he was making a scene. "How many books do you think are in here?"

"I-It's nearly an unfathomable amount! " Clover saw a chance to distract Garp. "This library has what many believe, the largest stock pile of literature the world has ever known! This tree has been standing for five-thousand years, gathering information from all over the world!"

"Impressive!" Garp complimented, putting clover at some ease. "I understand that this library attracts many archeologists and scholars?"

"O-of Course!" Clover stated, trying to stay resolute under the pressure in the hall. "Many people who seek knowledge and wish to share their own, have been coming here to-"

"Then maybe you have had an archeologist by the name of Nico Olivia drop by here and there?"

Garp dropped a verbal bomb on Clover, making the leaf bearded man gain a fresh coat of sweat.

* * *

Robin pushed her way past a thick brush of branches in the forest, until she came across a wide open view of a white sandy beach, with the ocean stretching out far onto the horizon.

Robin looked up and down the beach, ignoring the beautiful view, until she spotted who she was looking for.

"Saul!" She called out.

Saul, being an enormous giant, wearing tattered clothes, a worn brown cowboy hat and a big bushy orange beard, turned from the gigantic raft he was building to look at where the voice came from.

"Oh! Robin!" Saul cracked a smile as he made his way over to her, stomping across the beach due to his size.

"Good to see you again!" Saul spoke in a booming voice. Robin didn't mind however, smiling all the way at seeing her first ever friend.

Good to see you too!" She called, wanting her voice to reach his ears. "How's the raft coming along?"

Saul took a seat, leaning his back against the cliff Robin stood upon. "Pretty ship-shape if I do say so myself!" Saul then erupted into a strange mixture of laughing and crying at the same time, making a strange noise as he did.

"Dereshishishishishi! Dereshishishishishishi!"

Robin giggled to herself as she enjoyed the infectious positivity that Saul managed to produce. It reminded her of the boy she just met that day. She wondered why that was…

"So," Saul attempted to strike up a conversation. "Read any good books lately?"

"No, nothing special…" Robin answered as she took her own seat on the grass and bringing her knees to her chest. "But…" Robin grew quiet, which only got Saul's attention even more.

"'But' what?" Saul asked in a curious tone.

"I think that…" Robin didn't want to jinx it, but she couldn't drop the subject now. "…that I made a new friend today!" She beamed.

"Dershishishishishishi! That's fantastic Robin!" Saul was delighted to hear this from Robin. After all the stories she told about the other kids on the island and that rotten old aunt of hers, hearing she now has a fried warmed Saul to the heart.

"Yeah! He reminds me a lot of you!" Robin started to go on about the boy she had met that day. How he stood up to her against a group of kids picking on her, how he ate a devil fruit like her and what he said about wanting to be big and strong enough to stop bad things from happening.

"I like the sound of this kid! Sure wish I could meet him!" Saul broke out into his strange laughter again. "So, what rock on this island has this kid been hiding under anyway?"

"He's not from here." Robin answered, enjoying the talk they were having. "He says he came from the East Blue."

"The East Blue? This is one brave kid you've come across! Going through the Grand Line and all!" Saul was happy for his little friend. Knowing that he had to leave was painful, but now that Robin had someone else with her and to take his place, life should be a lot easier for her.

Besides, no matter how painful it may be to leave, he had to keep moving.

He had to reach Ohara.

Hundreds of lives depended on it…

"Also," Robin brought Saul back from his thoughts. "He's got a 'D' in his name too. Just like yours!"

"Huh? O-oh, really?" Saul returned his attention to Robin, pushing his personal mission to the back of his mind for now.

"Yeah! If I remember correctly…" Robin started to rack her brain as to what the boys full name was. Being an eight year old girl who aced a high grade archeologist test, it wasn't that hard for her to remember.

"His name was…Monkey…Yeah, Monkey D. Luffy! That's what his name was!" Robin stated, proud of her memory skills.

The slam of Saul's hands on either side of her on the cliff side did more than shake her out of her musings. Falling over, she picked herself up and ended up staring back at the intense gaze of the orange bearded giant.

"M-Monkey?!" Saul managed to choke out in his flabbergasted state. "Did you say M-Monkey D.?!

"Y-yeah…?" Robin was getting scared. Saul had never acted like this before in the days she knew him.

"Robin," Saul gulped, swallowing his nerves. "Did Luffy come with anyone else to this island?"

"H-he said he came here with his Grandpa…" Robin started to shiver, she was so scared of how Saul was being.

Saul then froze at those words, the word 'Garp' being whispered from his massive maw.

"'Garp'?" Robin asked, stunned in fear as much as Saul himself.

"Robin!" Saul looked back at Robin, now seeing how scared Robin was looking at him.

Saul took a minute to pull himself together, not wanting to scare the girl anymore then he already had. "Sorry for scaring you, Robin, but it's very important that I talk to Luffy's Grandpa right now!"

"O-okay…" Robin stood up from where she lay. She knew that Saul would never hurt her, but the way he was acting was positively terrifying.

"Robin," Saul leaned in, wanting Robin to hear him loud and clear, even though his voice was loud enough for nearly all to hear. "I need you to go find Garp, and I need you to say to him two **_very…important…words…_** "

Robin swallowed her fear and hesitantly nodded.

* * *

"If we had any records of the likes of Nico Olivia being in this library, I would show them to you, Garp sir." Clover was managing to keep up his act, but if Garp kept probing him like this, then there's no telling what the outcome would be. Garp wasn't known for his patience after all.

And impatient was exactly what Garp was getting. He knew the scholars in this library were hiding something, something big. What ever the connection was between Olivia, Saul and Ohara was, these people knew, and they weren't telling him what he wanted to hear.

There was an invisible elephant in the room and all Garp had to do was keep poking in the right directions until-

"Let me in, will ya?!"

"L-Luffy, where did you-"

"Let me in, already!"

The muffled arguing outside drew all eyes to the front door of the library.

"You can't go in Luffy! Your Grandfa-"

The sound of a kick and an audible 'OW' sounded out before a straw hat wearing boy came charging in through the front door. "GRANDPA!" The boy cried, causing all the scholars to look at the Vice admiral, who couldn't help but feel a wave of awkwardness overcome him.

"Were sorry, Garp sir!" A marine soldier, rubbing his aching shin, apologized as he followed behind Luffy. "I couldn't stop him from coming inside!"

"Darn-it, Luffy! I'm in the middle of something important, and you choose **NOW** to show up!" Garp was at the end of his rope. First his Grandson runs off and disappears, the scholars give him the run around, and now his knuckle-headed grandson finally appears, barging in and ruining his questioning. Garp didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to feel pretty old right now.

"Sorry, Grandpa…" Luffy hung his head, only to shoot back up again. "But I'm here to wait for a new friend I made!"

Garp put his palm to his face. "Luffy, now is not the time or the place! Stay outside, ** _with my men!_** And wait for your friend there!"

"I need to speak with someone called 'Garp'!"

The next voice to come from outside caught everyone's attention once more.

"Sorry, little girl, Garp is in a very important-"

" **This** is important!"

"Listen! You are not aloud to-"

Another kick, another 'OW', and this time, a little dark haired girl came running inside, with a second marine soldier nursing his shin.

"My Grandson is one thing," Garp spoke in a lecturing tone. "But a little girl?! What happened to your'e training?!"

Both soldiers hung their heads in shame.

"I need to speak with a marine called 'Garp'!" Robin cried out desperately.

"Robin?" Luffy caught the girl's attention.

"Luffy!" Robin said surprised.

"Luffy, who is this?" Garp asked curiously.

"This is the friend I made, Robin!" Luffy cracked his toothy grin as Robin was stood still in place, shocked at what Luffy had called him.

"W-were f-friends?" Robin stuttered, unable to believe what as he just heard.

"Well, yeah!" Luffy answered as if it was obvious.

Robin couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face and her eyes become a little moist.

"Oh, I see…" Garp said in a mentionable tone. "Here on a **_playdate_** , Are we, Luffy?"

"It's not like that!" Luffy yelled in defiance, while Robin blushed crimson and lowered her head, hoping no one would notice.

"Robin!" clover whispered sternly. "What are you doing here? And how do you know 'Garp'?"

Robin was so caught up in what was going on, she nearly forgot her reason for being here.

"Well," She began, as everyone turned their attention back to her. Seeing the worried look on her face made Luffy and the two adults nervous. "A friend of mine told me about you…and told me to come find you and say something…" The little dark haired girl grew quiet again, remembering the dire face that Saul wore.

"And what would that be?" Garp asked gently, wondering what was so important for a little girl to force her way past a marine officer to see him. Clover was also wondering what had Robin so on edge, along with the rest of the scholars and marines scattered around the library.

"Robin…?" Luffy didn't like seeing his new friend in such a scared state.

Robin looked back up, looked Garp in the eye and said one word.

 **"Buster Call…"**

The blood of every adult in that library ran cold.

* * *

Arriving on the East side of the island of Ohara, a small rowboat was steadily making it's way to the island.

Upon the boat, a lone slender figure with long snow white hair rowed tirelessly with all their strength.

"Please let me get there in time…Please…"

A crack of light shown through as the door to the galley of the ship was creaked open.

"Commander Spadine! We are just a few more hours away from the island of Ohara!" The marine soldier spoke.

"Splendid!" A man wearing a black suit with skin that showed he barely got out in the sun spoke. "let me know when we're ready to dock!"

With a 'yessir' the soldier left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Soon…" Spadine whispered to himself. "The world will be reminded of just how powerful the World Government is…"

He looked over to a golden snail, gleaming in the dark on the desk beside him. A sinister sneer split across his face.

"…And remember to stay in its proper place!"


	2. The Runabout on Ohara

**_The Runabout on Ohara_**

The entire hall of the library was so quiet, a pin dropping could make an echo. Robin just stood there, feeling more and more uncomfortable as time past. Luffy was looking around at all the grown-ups, wondering why they're all looking so spooked.

Clover suddenly rushed up and took Robin by her shoulders, looking her square in the eyes.

"Robin, where did you learn that word?" He sternly asked. Robin's nervousness rocketed to high levels at this change in character of the old library keeper.

"Hey, Leaf-Head!" The high pitched noise came from Robin's new friend. "Don't scare Robin like that!" Luffy was stomping up to him, rage filling his eyes.

"Silence, boy!" The professor bellowed. "This has nothing to do with you!"

"Robin's my friend! It has everything to do with me!" Luffy yelled back, just as fiercely as Clover, if not more.

Taken back by the words of the boy's outburst, Clover noticed the Vice Admiral amongst them walk up to him and Robin. "Allow me." Garp gently stated.

Clover immediately stood up and raised his arms out to his sides, guarding Robin with his body. "I will not let you harm one hair on this girl!" He announced.

Looking around, one could see the rest of the scholars were starting to flare up for a fight. If this didn't get a lid on itself soon, there would be a large amount of unneeded bloodshed this library.

"Professor," The small voice brought the attention of the lead archeologist to the small girl he was protecting. "It's all right. I want to talk to him too."

Clover looked like he was about to protest, but seeing the determination in her eyes made him lower his guard and reluctantly let Garp pass.

All the other scholars in the library watched on, keeping a close eye on anything that Garp might do.

The look that the scholar gave the Vice Admiral said enough; **_'Harm her and you face me and the rest of us!'_**

Garp knelt down in front of Robin, giving off a gentle and kind atmosphere, calming the young girl.

"You're a friend of my Grandson, Are you?" He asked. Robin gave a small nod.

Garp raised his hand and moved it close to Robin's head. All the scholars nearly flinched into attack, when Garp landed his hand gently on top of Robin's head, rubbing it softly.

"Then if Luffy trusts you, then so do I!" Garp gave his own wide toothy grin, mimicking Luffy's. Robin caught on to this and relaxed.

"Now," Garp got back to business. "Can you tell me who told you to say that to me?"

Robin shifted uncomfortably. "He told me it was okay to tell you his name…"

"Who?" Garp inquired.

"Saul…" Robin answered.

Garp's eyes widened at this. "Saul, as in **_Jaguar D. Saul?!_** **_He's_** on this island?!"

Robin nodded yes.

"Can you tell me where he is?!" Garp asked as calmly as he could, as to not scare her as much as she has been already.

"Yes," Robin nodded again. "He's down at the South end of the island, on a beach! He said he wanted to talk to you too!"

"…That's good," Garp got back up on his feet. "Thank you for telling me this…?"

"Robin." The girl answered his unasked question.

"Thank you, Robin," The vice admiral said kindly, before turning to his marines in the library. "Men! This is an order! Stand guard of this library until I return! No one enters this library! No civilians! No children!"

Garp looked back at the two soldiers who let Luffy and Robin get past them, both hanging their heads in shame.

"And no other officer gets in apart from me! Is that understood?!" A chorus of 'YISSIR!'s echoed through the library, each soldier signaling their leader with a salute.

Garp then looked between the two children. "You two stay here. The marines will keep you safe."

"Thank you." Robin obliged politely. "Awwwww! Why can't I come with you?! Libraries are boring!" Luffy pouted stubbornly, causing Robin to feel quite offended.

Garp placed his hands on his Grandson's shoulders, staring him in the eye. "Luffy, if you won't take an order as a marine, then take one as my Grandson." He beseeched strongly, grasping Luffy's full attention. "You have to stay here and protect Robin, no matter what! Can you do that?"

"Of course!" Luffy stated.

"Good boy!" Garp encouraged him.

"Allow me to come with you." Clover waked up behind Garp. "I need to ask Saul some things about… Olivia." The old librarian reluctantly confessed.

"So you do know her…" Garp looked back at the scholar, unimpressed by the old man's secrecy.

"More than you realize…" Clover went on.

"Momma…" Robin whispered under her breath, but Luffy was the only one to hear her.

"After which…I will be more than willing to reveal to you…everything we've been hiding." Clover continued.

"Clover, no!" An archeologist from the other side of the room called out in defiance.

"WE HAVE NO CHOICE!" Clover bellowed back, silencing any other objections. "It is time for us to come clean, for the greater good! You heard what Robin spoke of when she entered!" The statement was more than enough to make the rest of the scholars quietly agree.

Clover turned back to Garp. "I suggest we leave now."

"Agreed." Garp motioned back.

Clover got down on one knee in front of Robin and placed his hands on her shoulders once more, only much more gentler this time. "Stay here, Robin. The marines will keep you safe. We'll be back soon."

"Okay." Robin obeyed softly.

"Keep Robin safe, Luffy. I'm counting on you." Garp ordered his Grandson.

"Got it!" Luffy nodded with determination.

"Let's go." Garp and Clover both left through the front door of the library, letting in the sunlight for a quick moment, before the room was bathed in shaded darkness again after the door closed.

After a quiet tension filled the air of the library, Luffy chose that moment to break it.

"Why do we have to wait in a library?! It's so boring!" This comment resulted in Robin giving a huff in annoyance.

"Huh?" Luffy looked over to see Robin with her back turned to him.

"What's up, Robin?" Luffy asked.

"I'm not talking to you!" Robin pouted.

"What?! Why?!" Luffy was really confused now.

"You said libraries are boring! I like libraries!" Robin kept looking away from Luffy.

"Is that why you're being like this?" All Luffy got from her was silence.

"Robin?" Nothing. "Robin?" Nothing again. Luffy tried to see her face on her right side. "I just said that-" Robin turned away. "I didn't mean to-" She turned to the right when he came left. "Robin, will you just-" This went on for a few minutes.

All the other scholars and marines watching this couldn't help but find this spectacle rather funny and adorable.

After running around Robin, trying to see her face, Luffy gave up and collapsed on the floor, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm sorry, Robin…" Luffy whined, making Robin turn her head a little in his direction.

"You're not going to say libraries are boring again?" Robin lectured more than asked.

"No…" Luffy moaned again.

"Promise?" Robin faced front, looking down at Luffy.

"I promise…" Luffy said, not wanting to be shut out anymore.

"He's like a husband in the dog house…" A marine muttered to a female archeologist, causing them both to chuckle under their breath.

"She'll make a good wife one day…" She whispered back, causing them both to smile, only to realize that they were on opposing sides and went back to giving each other their own silent treatment. How could two kids break such a tense situation, they both wondered…

"While were here, why don't I show you some of my favorite books?" Robin glowed with enthusiasm.

Luffy wanted to moan at this, but not wanting to be ignored by Robin again, he stifled it.

"Sure…" He said with as much muster as he could, which wasn't a lot.

Robin was so happy to hear this, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along to explore the library.

"I think we have some books about Gold Roger somewhere…" Robin said out loud to herself.

"'Gold Roger?!' Awesome!" Luffy then took the lead and pulled Robin along, the two starting a fight for leadership.

The marines were fine with letting the two children run around the place, gathering books and talking all the while, as long as they stayed inside the tree.

The scholars were so happy to see Robin enjoying her favorite pass time with someone her own age. She deserved to have a friend at last.

They just prayed that the two didn't go anywhere near the basement…

* * *

On the East shore of Ohara, the white haired stranger, known as Nico Olivia, had long abandoned her vessel and had started her trek through the forest.

"I hope Saul is here already…" She hoped to herself as she pushed a branch out of her path.

Olivia had risked much of herself already by going out to sea, hunting down the ponoglyphs in the name of her late husband. Becoming a criminal, forcing a Vice Admiral to go awol, and losing all of her fellow scholars that set out with her in a bloody massacre at the hands of the marines! But one thing that stung just as horrible as that, after all these years, was cutting all ties with her beloved daughter.

How old must she be now? Seven,no…eight! Oh, how she wished she could see her again…

"No," she said to herself. It's for the best…She doesn't deserve to have a criminal as a mother…

Even as she thought that, her resolve was still weak.

If she could go back in time and stop herself from going on that ship and abandoning Robin, she would. Her husband would understand.

But her fate was sealed… She had to make sure the fate of Ohara wasn't!

She marched on, determination running through her. She believed that History was a treasure, and she won't let the World Government turn it into a curse for the rest of the world!

* * *

"Nico Olivia was a long time comrade of ours in the Tree of Knowledge." Clover spoke as he and Garp walked through the forest.

"I'm sure you are aware of why an archeologist would become a wanted criminal?" Garp was well aware indeed.

The Ponoglyphs.

Ancient tablets with an indescribable language chiseled into their sides, recording the history of a blank one hundred years that no one has recorded for over eight hundred year prier. One hundred years that people only describe, as the Void Century.

Eight-hundred years ago, the World Government issued that studying the ponoglyphs was a crime, punishable by death. Anyone that made an attempt to analyze them, was dealt with instantly.

Even though the punishment was dire, many scholars and archeologists couldn't resist leaving the ponoglyphs be. Their curiosity got the best of them, but all it did was issue them immediate death.

"So if Nico Olivia cut all ties with you, why go to all this trouble to cover her up?" Garp asked, satisfied with finally getting the answers he sought.

"Because…We have a ponoglyph hidden under the Tree of Knowledge…" clover finally admitted, possibly sealing his own death sentence, along with his fellow scholars.

Garp's eyes widened at this information. He regained his nerves and looked forward.

"I see…" The pieces were falling into place at last.

"When Robin mentioned the 'Buster Call'…" Clover took a moment to let the fearful effect of the word itself pass. "I knew it was time to tell the truth. I don't want the World Government slaughtering any more of my colleagues!"

"But you went and studied the ponoglyph anyway, regardless of the consequences!" Garp pointed out, wanting to get a tighter hold on the situation at hand.

 ** _"Wanting to know the truth should not be a crime!"_** The aging scholar erupted, the stress overcoming him. After some silence passed between the two walking men, Clover started to speak again.

"…Which is why I am so relieved to be telling the likes of you all of this, Garp." Clover was truly glad that the one decent officer of the navy had decided to investigate the issue in person.

"You know that I work for the organization that can have you and your comrades dead…" Garp mentioned.

"By comparing the Navy to the World Government, you marines can at least be reasoned with to a degree." Clover insinuated. "I know my sentence, along with my colleges, is final. But if there is a chance to ward off the World Government from spilling anymore innocent blood…" Clover muttered, still bitter about the fact of a marine battleship slaughtering a large number of his colleagues on their expedition.

Garp wouldn't say it out loud, but he agreed. He was aware of how corrupt a system the World Government was running. The Celestials were a prime example…

He was also aware of how corrupt the Navy itself had become over time. At this rate, the pirates were acting more honest than the Marines. Maybe Luffy has a point in becoming a pirate…

Garp immediately shook the thought out of his head, when suddenly, the two men had arrived at their destination.

A wide open view of the ocean, a long stretching sandy beach, with a large orange bearded giant staring right back at them.

"Garp…" Saul greeted.

"Saul…" Garp narrowed his eyes at the enormous being. "You have some explaining to do…"

* * *

On the West side of the island, another marine ship had made dock. Stepping off the ship's bridge connecting to land was Commander Spadine, along with two men wearing black suits.

As Spadine and the two men stepped off the ship, all the soldiers saluted them as they made their way down. Spadine liked it like this, people saluting him, praising him, **_worshiping him…_**

"Commander Spadine," The black suited man on his right spoke up, taking Spadine out from his ego stroking. "What are our orders?" The man mentioned to his partner on Spadine's left.

"Just stay by my side at all times. Don't let anyone get within five feet of me." Spadine may have been a high ranking agent in the World Government, but he also had a highly known reputation of being a spiteful coward.

He had lied, cheated and bribed his way to the top, becoming chief commander of one of the World Governments most elite forces **.** As long as he had them to hide behind, he could get away with anything.

"The rest of you!" He bellowed, catching the attention of all the soldiers saluting him. "Head for the Tree of Knowledge and begin your investigation! We cannot let these criminals recreate the ultimate weapon!"

A chorus of 'YISSIR!' filled his ears, and they were off.

This the part of the job Spadine loved the most. Flaunting his power, knowing that he had the power of the World Government behind him, believing it made him untouchable.

His reputation was all that mattered to him, no matter what kind of sinful act he would do for it. He just hoped his son would be able to make him as proud as he was of himself when he handed his title over to him.

But that thought could wait. Right now, it was time to make an example of Ohara…

* * *

Luffy opened his mouth wide to let out a massive yawn.

"I thought learning about Gold Roger would be fun, but all this reading is so boring!"

"I thought you said you weren't going to say that anymore!" Robin chided him, sitting to one side of the table they were sat at.

"I can't help it, Robin! You can think libraries are cool, but you can't force me to!" Luffy defended himself. Robin was surprised by this, only for her face to sink down into a frown. He was right. It wasn't nice to force someone to be what you want them to be, Her of all people should know that.

"I bet you think books are **stupid** too…" She couldn't help but let that slip out, remembering what one of the kids picking on her said.

Luffy looked over at her with concern. "I don't think books are stupid! They may be boring to me, but if someone as cool as you reads them, then their cool too!"

Robin looked back at the boy, blushing at his praise. This boy was so strange, yet so great to be around. She didn't question why though, wanting to enjoy having such a good friend in her life at long last.

"Hey! Can we go outside?" Luffy turned and called to one of the marines.

"Vice admiral Garp gave strict orders to watch over the two of you! Sorry, Luffy!" The marine answered back.

Luffy pouted at this, only for the gears in his head to start turning. Luffy looked over his shoulder from where he sat and spotted a window. The two of them were currently on one of the more higher levels of the tree, but since Luffy could stretch his arms like rubber…

With a chuckle and a grin, Luffy had an idea!

"Psst! Robin!" Luffy quietly got the dark haired girl's attention. "Let's sneak out of here!"

"We can't do that!" robin chastised quietly. "We'll get in trouble!"

"I get in trouble all the time! It's not that bad!" Luffy hopped down from his seat. "Besides, its fun to break the rules once in a while!" He spoke showing off his toothy grin.

Robin was skeptical at first, but now that she finally had a friend her age, she wanted to reap the benefits she long went without after all those lonely years.

Robin closed her book gently, not wanting to alert the grown-ups in the library and silently hopped down from her seat and followed Luffy's lead.

Luffy pushed a near by stool to a window, stepped on top of it and went to open it.

"What are you doing?" Robin questioned.

"Were leaving out the window!" Luffy beamed excitedly.

"We can't go out there! Were too high up!" Robin protested, but her protests fell on deaf ears. Luffy had already opened the window and climbed out half way, before standing up with his hand clinging to the frame, stretching out his whole arm a few inches.

He reached out to Robin. "Take my hand! I'll stretch us down!"

Robin was reluctant, but gave in to the boy's wishes, took his hand and squeezed it for dear life.

Luffy then pulled her up through the window and wrapped his arm around her waist. Robin blushed at this, before Luffy made a leap down from the railing and landed a few meters down the side of the tree, his hand still holding onto the window frame.

One jump at a time, the two kids scaled down the large trunk of the Tree of Knowledge. Finally landing on solid ground, Luffy retracted his arm and it snapped back in place.

"How did you learn how to do that?!" Robin was blown away by such a creative use for his powers.

"The idea just came to me! I've never done that before!" Luffy heartily laughed, as Robin gained a look of utter dread.

"B-but…We could have died! Or at least me, since your made of rubber…But still!" Robin fumed at having her life risked on chance.

"I wouldn't have dropped you, Robin. You're my friend, I'd never want to lose you." That simple state from the straw hatted boy made Robin stop being angry and a flattered feeling spread through her. But she still put up a pout, she did nearly die after all.

Robin was brought out of her thoughts by a finger being poked into her forehead. Looking back at Luffy, she saw him wearing his wide toothy grin again.

"Tag! Your'e 'It'!" Luffy laughed as he made a run for it.

"L-Luffy! Get back here!" Robin yelled as she started to chase him.

Even though she sounded mad, she was smiling. She always wanted to play tag, but none of the kids wanted to play with her. No one did, until now. Robin thanked whatever deity it was that brought this boy into her life, and hoped she and him could be friends for as long as possible.

Hopefully, she dared to wish, forever…

* * *

"They massacred an entire ship?!" Garp gasped in disbelief.

"Yes," Saul regretfully recollected. "I never saw the reasoning behind it. They were just scholars, they barely even put up a fight! After I arrested Olivia, Sengoku ordered me to aid in the 'Buster Call' on Ohara…"

Garp gave a sigh of disappointment. Sengoku was the fleet admiral of the entire Navy and even though he has done good work, his loyalty to the Government had a habit of clouding his judgement. It was times when it did that Garp couldn't even recognize him. The fleet admiral needed to make his mind up, about weather to have a heart, or not.

"…And once Olivia told you of the World Government's plans, you couldn't stand aside…" Garp finished for the giant.

"Exactly…" Saul agreed.

"All of Ohara…they would go so far, just to keep us quiet and history buried?" Clover was beyond shocked, frozen to the spot where he stood and as white as a sheet. The World Government would go so far to keep the Void Century a secret, that they would obliterate an entire island?!

All of this said only one thing to the aged archeologist; The Government was hiding something.

Something to do with the Ponoglyphs…

"We can't let this happen!" Clover burst out.

"I agree," Garp concluded. "We don't know when the battleships will arrive, but I have to contact Sengoku at once! He'll at least listen to me!"

Garp and Sengoku went way back in the Navy, fighting together on the open seas against many a pirate, even going up against the former Pirate King, Gold Roger himself. Even though they had a habit of rubbing each other the wrong way and having different opinions on how to dispense justice, they would always be friends and comrades. Hopefully, that side of Sengoku would show when Garp brought all this up to him…

"Well, if you're going to contact him, Garp…" Saul was looking out to sea with fear and dread filling his eyes. "You might want to do it now…"

Garp and clover looked out to see what Saul was speaking of, and the color drained from their faces more.

On the horizon, ten battleships were waiting out on the waves, with over-sized cannons that you could see from the shore, mounted on deck and sticking out the broadsides.

Above the fleet of ships, a storm was looming over them, thunder ominously rumbling in the clouds with flashes of lightning illuminating their presence.

"Their just floating there…waiting…" Clover felt like he was going to be sick.

"That means they haven't been given the signal…" Garp deduced. "The one holding the golden transponder snail must be on the island, starting their 'investigation'…"

"We must hurry back to the library!" Clover turned to the direction of the Tree of Knowledge. "They will be heading straight there!"

"Let's move!" Garp began to sprint for the centre of the island, clover barely keeping up with him. Clover then found himself being lifted in the air and carried in the palm of Saul's hand. Saul climbed over the cliffside, his enormous presence reaching high over the forest.

"I'm coming too! I have to find Olivia, and I won't see this island burn!" The large being confirmed.

With a nod of approval from the vice admiral and lead scholar, the three began to make their way back to the tree, praying that everything would turn out all right.

All through their mad dash for the library, each one of them had a different person on their mind; Olivia for Clover, Robin for Saul, and Luffy for Garp.

All three of them prayed that they were okay.

* * *

"Curses…!" Olivia swore under her breath. Hiding behind a house wall, she was able to lean out and see the marine soldiers guarding the library. She was too late to warn her comrades.

Olivia darted her eyes around, trying to spot someone of authority, leading the marine forces. She couldn't find any.

"I still have time…" Olivia whispered as she treaded away from her hiding spot and made a quick dash for the forest. If the one in charge of this 'investigation' hasn't arrived yet, she has a window of opportunity to stop them from arriving.

"I won't let this place burn…!" she muttered as she ran. "I won't see my colleagues die…

"…I won't see my daughter die!"

* * *

Robin and Luffy had run deep into the forest, where not another soul could barely find them. The two children had stopped to catch their breath after an enjoyable game of tag.

"I…win…!" luffy heaved, hunched over with his hands on his knees.

"How…can you run…so fast?" Robin gasped as she fell to her knees, dropping the book she had in her hands.

"I… run around… the jungle… back home… with my brothers… all the time…" Luffy managed to get out, starting to stand up straight.

"You…have brothers?" Robin leaned up, her breath coming back to her lungs.

"Yeah…Ace and Sabo! They're my big brothers! We run around, get into fights, hunt for food, it's awesome! They're awesome!" Luffy beamed with pride.

Robin looked down, feeling depressed. "All I have is a cousin. She's not mean to me, but she doesn't play with me though. Auntie Roji tells her to stay away from me…"

"…That auntie of yours is a real troll!" Luffy stated. Robin was surprised to hear this at first, but broke out into a laugh.

"I wish I could call her that, right to her face!" Robin hoped out loud. "But she'd just get mad and hit me…"

Luffy was getting tired of seeing his new friend looked sad all the time. He got an idea on how to cheer her up, but he really didn't want to do it. Looking back at Robin's sad face though, he ended up breaking away his stubbornness.

Luffy surprised the two of them by taking off his treasured straw hat and placed it on her head. Robin pushed the brim of the hat up from her eyes, peeking out at the smiling boy.

"Then I'll be there!" Luffy said while wearing his grin. "When you finally tell your auntie off for being so mean to you, I'll be there to back you up!"

Robin took the hat off and couldn't help but look at it in her hands. Robin let a small smile appear on her face. She noticed she'd been smiling a lot more lately, ever since she met this boy. He made her feel…special, happy…loved…

A rustle in the distance caught their attention, making the two kids whip their heads in the direction of the noise.

"Stupid forest!" A loud mutter came from behind a few trees. Luffy and Robin both looked at each other and made their way closer to where the noise originated. "This jacket was tailor made!"

Peeking out through a bush, they saw a tall, pale skinned man, wearing a black suit and an ugly green long sleeve jacket. One of the sleeves of the jacket had caught onto one of the branches of the trees and he was tugging at it in anger.

Upon closer inspection, Robin caught the sight of something gold in the man's inside jacket pocket. Leaning closer to get a better look, Robin's eyes widened in shock. The gold object turned out to be a golden transponder snail.

Transponder snails were used as communication devices, even though they're living creatures. A hand mic is implanted at the top of their shells, allowing one to speak through another snail, their voices coming from the snails mouth. It was a strange mix between creature and device, but it made contacting people from far distances a helpful commodity.

This snail however, didn't have a mic on its shell, but a large gold button. Robin stared at this button, frozen in worry.

"This guy's funny!" Luffy snickered with a hand over his mouth. "Right, Robin?" Luffy looked over to his friend to see her shaking slightly.

"Robin?…What's up?" Luffy said concerned.

"Do you see that gold snail in his jacket, Luffy?" Robin whispered back.

"Yeah…?" Luffy peered at the shining device in the man's coat.

"That's a gold transponder snail!" She continued. "I just remembered where I heard that word Saul told me to say to your grandpa! I read about it in a book once. It's supposed to be used by a marine officer to summon a…a…" the realization hit Robin like a tidal wave. Sweat appeared on her forehead and she began to shake from total fear.

"A what?!" Luffy hissed, wanting to know what had Robin so scared.

 ** _"A Buster Call…_** A wide spread attack from ten navy battleships that fire on a single target and don't stop firing until ** _…nothing remains!"_**

* * *

"We're nearly there!" Saul informed the two men he ran with. The tree in the center of the island was beginning to get closer. With any luck, they still had a chance to prevent a massacre.

As Garp continued to sprint forward, a slender figure suddenly ran right in for of him, stopping him in his tracks. Garp skidded to a halt, making Saul slow his pace.

"What is it, Garp?!" Saul looked down, needing to know what was stopping their mission.

Clover looked down from his position in Saul's hand and gained a look of surprise.

"Olivia…?" The aging scholar gasped.

Indeed, Nico Olivia had run right into the vice admiral, lead archeologist and giant ex-marine.

"Professor…" Olivia looked up to her old friend. "Saul…" She was happy to see the one navy officer that had heard her side of the story.

She looked to the hero of the navy next, worry beginning to fill the pit in her stomach. "Monkey D. Garp…"

"Nico Olivia…" Garp stepped toward the woman.

"Garp…!" Clover yelled in fury. He would have leaped from the giant's hand if it didn't risk his life.

"Don't do it!" Saul leaned forward, wanting to stop whatever Garp had in mind of doing.

The vice admiral stopped in front of the woman, the two staring the other down. "What you have done is a crime punishable by death…"

Olivia swallowed her fear, ready for whatever might happen next.

"But…there is such a thing as over doing things…" Garp voiced out, stopping Saul in his motion and making the two archeologists wonder what he was meaning.

"As I understand, your entire crew, who set out to study the ponoglyphs, were wiped out by Saul's forces…" Garp recollected, making the white haired scholar clench her fists at the ugly memory and Saul hang his head, still guilty about the atrocity he was apart of.

"They were massacred!" The woman bust out, making Saul flinch at the loud tone. Clover stood in the large being's palm, shaking with anger and grief, while Garp stood in place, letting the archeologist speak.

"We barely managed to defend ourselves! But we didn't stand a chance! How could we, against an entire battalion?! "

Tears began to leak from the woman's eyes.

"All because the World Government wants to keep a secret quiet! To keep history from being told! To stop the truth from being unearthed!"

She grabbed the front of Garp's white jacket by both side

"We just wanted to know! Is wanting to learn such a crime?! Isn't wanting to know the truth what **_you_** people are all about?!"

Garp just kept standing there, taking all the abuse.

"Then why keep such a secret?! Why all the bloodshed?! Why make people who don't want to fight, pay for a crime that doesn't make sense?!"

She pulled her face close to his.

 ** _"WE'RE RESEARCHERS! NOT PIRATES!"_**

Garp just stood there, looking back at the emotional woman before him.

"Let me down…" Clover asked the giant, who was more than happy to do just that. The professor ran up to Olivia and brought her into a tight embrace. Olivia wrapped her arms around Clover and cried into his shoulder.

"You poor girl…" Clover comforted his young prodigy. "You've gone through so much… all for us…" Olivia kept wailing into his shoulder. "We can never repay you for your sacrifice…or our lost comrades…"

A moment of silence went by as the wanted scholar sobbed her pain out on the aging archeologist.

Saul just looked down at the woman he had gotten to know, tears threatening to fall from his eyes, not from ridiculous laughter this time.

"In any case," Garp broke the silence. "That would have been enough of a punishment."

Olivia and clover looked back at the vice admiral, looks of grimace on their faces.

"You and your crew were the one's that were guilty and that would have been the end of it." Olivia pulled away from Clover, wiping her eyes and regaining her composure.

"You we're the ones that committed the crime, not the whole island of Ohara!" Garp spoke with vigor.

Garp's word's appeared to light a fire in Clover and Olivia, along with Saul, thankful for having the chance to tell the one marine in the navy who had as much common decency as anyone.

"We must find the holder of the gold transponder snail and stop this madness before it begins!" With a nod from the people around him, the vice admiral, the aging scholar, the wanted archeologist and the giant e-marine continued their race back to the Tree of Knowledge.

Each of them hoped in their hearts that whoever it was that was holding that snail wasn't at the tree yet…

* * *

"Woah…" Luffy could only picture what it would look like. An entire island being riddled with cannon fire, until there was nothing to fire at. Luffy found a lot of things awesome in life, but certainly not this.

"Do you think he's gonna use it?" Luffy wondered out loud.

"I don't know…" Robin put her hand to her chin, remembering what else the book read. "Such a thing can only be used as a final option, where there is no other alternative. I don't see why he would-"

"I can't wait to see this island burn!" That outburst by Spadine caused the two children to snap their heads back at him, terror filling their eyes.

"Ticking off the World Government is one thing," The green suited official growled "But ruining my best jacket is crossing the line entirely!"

"If I may remind you, sir," One of the black suited men beside him spoke up. "You first need to find evidence that the scholars are indeed translating the ponoglyphs in order to issue a Buster Call."

The mention of the ancient tablets caused Robin to double take, thinking about the library, the scholars and the large stone slab in the basement she managed to see them working on.

"Even if there isn't any," Spandine spit back, his bitterness getting the best of him. "Those researchers the marines killed originated from Ohara in the first place! I know that much at least!"

Robin went white at those words. An entire ship load of scholars? From Ohara? Killed? Just for studying? Robin clutched the book in her hands, grief running through her body as she remembered that her mother went out to see for the same reason.

"To get rid of a weed," The green suited man pointed at the Tree of Knowledge in the distance. **"You have to pull out the root!"**

Robin gasped while Luffy was fuming. This guy was as sick as they came!

Spadine inspected his coat, looking for what damage was done. "Eh, nothing too expensive…Let's keep moving!"

As the three men walked onward, the two young ones were frozen from what they heard. Luffy shook it off and looked at Robin with determination.

"We've got to get that snail!" He stated.

"What?!" Robin came out of her thoughts at the straw hatted boy's words.

"If we let him get to the Tree of Knowledge, he just might push that button for the fun of it and destroy this whole island!" Luffy deduced. Robin didn't protest that Spadine wasn't the type to do so, but what Luffy was speaking of was suicidal.

"Luffy…they're the World Government! We'll be beyond in trouble if we try anything against them!" Robin tried to reason, but Luffy was having none of it. Standing up, he looked down at Robin, his eyes filled with a strength that Robin had only seen when he stood up to those bullies that were picking on her.

"I'm gonna be the Pirate King! I'm gonna be in trouble anyway!" Luffy proclaimed.

Robin was inwardly blown away by his resolve. She then began to think about the people on the island. The civilians always glared at her in the streets, the kids all picked on her and her Auntie Roji was nothing but horrible to her. Why should she help the likes of them?!

But then she began to think about the rest of the island's inhabitance. The scholars of the library who let her in and treated her like family. The gentle giant that taught her how to smile, no matter what hardships came your way. The mother she barely remembered but still felt warm whenever she saw her face in her mind.

The straw hatted boy who wanted to be her friend…

Robin got up on her feet, her eyes blazing with courage.

"Let's do it!" She declared.

Luffy gave a nod, and the two raced after the three Government agents.

* * *

"Soldier, I order you to stand aside!"

"We are under heavy orders from Vice Admiral Garp to not let anyone inside!"

A hostile situation was taking place outside of the library under the Tree of Knowledge, catching the eye of passing civilians.

"Hey, what's going on?" One asked the other.

"Are those Government Agents?" Another voice spoke up.

"Why are they arguing with the marines?" Questions kept getting passed around, drawing in more of a crowd.

The Government agent that wanted in the library was starting to get antsy. "Soldier, I am under orders of Commander Spadine of the World Government, to investigate the Tree of Knowledge for suspicious activity!"

"And as I've told you, ** _Sir!_** " the Marine returned, just as frustrated. "We are under orders of Vice Admiral Garp, to not let anyone in or out of this library!"

Before the situation could escalate any further, a jolt from the ground shook under the feet of everyone present, then another, and another.

"What the…?" A civilian questioned.

"Is that an earthquake?" Another asked worried.

Suddenly, the scream of a woman in the crowd alerted the townsfolk to a large orange bearded giant running towards them. The people panicked and ran for their lives, while the Government Agents and Marines stood their ground.

Bursting from of the forest ahead of the giant, Garp sprinted up towards the library, followed by Saul, Olivia and Clover coming up behind.

"Jaguar D. Saul?" The Marine said surprised.

"Nico Olivia?!" The Agent spoke even more so.

"Agent!" Garp got the Agent's attention. "Where is your commander?!"

The Agent in question stood at attention, not wanting get on the hero of the navy's bad side. "C-commander Spadine should be arriving shortly, sir!" He saluted.

"Spadine…?" Garp growled. He knew that slimy degenerate well, and to know he was in charge of this whole debacle just made the whole situation worse.

"Agent, what are you're orders?!" Garp had no time for polite authority, this was life or death!

"W-we are here to investigate the Tree of Knowledge to find any proof of research on the ponoglyphs, sir!" The Agent reluctantly answered.

"You mean you killed my friends out of **_suspicion alone?!_** " Olivia nearly lashed out at the Agent, had it not been for Clover holding her back.

"W-what is she doing here?! She's a wanted criminal!" The Agent flapped his gums, an act he instantly wished he could take back. Garp got close and personal to his face, a dark shadow coming across his lined features.

"We can sort that out when your'e commanding officer arrives." Garp said below a low whisper, striking fear into the Government Agent.

Garp then stepped back and walked over to his men, still guarding the front door of the tree. "Until then! No one enters or leaves this library without my permission!"

Just then, a marine came barging out of the library, panic stricken across his face.

"Vice admiral Garp, your grandson, the little girl… ** _they're gone!_** "

 ** _"Luffy?!"_** Garp froze in fear.

 ** _"Robin…?"_** Olivia gasped.

Garp then swung his arm toward the forest, full authority in his voice. **_"SEND A PATROL OUT TO FIND THOSE CHILDREN!"_**

 ** _"YISSIR!"_** A squad of marines sprang into action, making a beeline for the forest and disappearing into the brush.

"I'm going too!" Saul turned around, ready to sprint back into the forest beneath him.

"No, Saul!" Garp orders loud enough for the giant to hear him. "If you run around Ohara, you might spook the battleships out at sea! We can't take that risk!"

Saul looked down at Garp, arguing with him with his eyes. Soon enough, Garp's sharp glare won, and Saul sat down near the library with a surrounding thud.

Garp was beside himself. If anything happened to Luffy on his watch, he'd never forgive himself for it. He should have just stayed in Foosha Village and trained Luffy to be a marine there. Now he might lose his grandson in a fiery maelstrom!

Garp shut his eyes and bared the brunt of his guilt, turning it into pure willpower to turn this whole situation around and save his grandson at any cost.

Olivia was in a state of pure horror. Robin, her daughter, the one she left behind to make her late husband's wish a reality, could be subject to the World Government's destructive force, along with the whole island and her friends and colleagues. She wished she had never gotten on that ship and sailed away from her child in the first place!

As the pain washed over her, Nico Olivia sunk to her knees and cried a fresh stream of tears. She wanted her Robin back in her arms…She wanted her baby back…

A rumble in the distance sounded out across the whole island.

The storm was coming in, and with it, the impending doom of the island of Ohara…

* * *

"Ready?" Luffy whispered to Robin.

"Ready!" Robin answered back.

The two kids had run ahead of Spadine and his bodyguards, waiting to spring their trap.

The sound of feet stepping on twigs alerted the two young ones. Spadine and his two guards were following the footpath to the Tree of Knowledge, passing by many low hanging branches from the surrounding trees.

Perfect.

As the three Government agents passed the hiding two by, Robin put her arms together and summoned a hand on a near by branch, close to a passing Spadine.

With one swift motion, Robin clung onto the sleeve of his jacket and snagged it on the branch. Once secure, Robin made her hand disappear, just in time for spadine to lurch back from the branch's tug.

"Blast it! Not again!" Spadine went to work on unlatching the caught sleeve, leaving his coat wide open. Robin acted quickly and sprouted a few hands around Spadine's midsection without him knowing. Fiddling around in his jacket, robin felt something cold and metallic. Pulling it out, she managed to catch a glimpse of gold. She had it!

"Luffy, now!" Robin signaled. Luffy launched his arm low, sending it under Spadine's nose, with his palm open. Robin's spouted hand dropped the snail into Luffy's and the boy immediately pulled his arm back in.

"Sir! The dial!" One of the guards yelled, catching Spadine's attention. Looking to where the guard was pointing, he caught the sight of two kids, a little dark haired girl and a straw hat wearing boy, **holding the Buster Call Trigger!**

Spadine went into a fit of pure rage.

" **HEY, YOU LITTLE BRATS! GIVE ME BACK THAT SNAIL NOW!"**


	3. The Courage of Children

**_The Courage of Children_**

"RUN!" Luffy yelled as he and Robin took off running into the forest.

"FIND THEM AND GET THAT SNAIL BACK, NO MATTER WHAT!" Spadine furiously roared, his two guards instantly disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Spadine ran to give chase, only for his cast to snag him back and send him falling to the ground. He gave a frustrated screech, flailing his arms and legs around in a childish tantrum.

Luffy had Robin's hand in one of his own and the gold snail tucked under his other. The two children kept running through the forest, trying to find some sort of way out back to the library. Once there, they could give the snail to Luffy's grandpa and hopefully save this island from death and destruction.

"Keep running, Robin! Don't look back!" Luffy yelled.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Robin panted, keeping up with Luffy as much as possible.

Suddenly, in a flash of black, one of the guards was ahead of them. Luffy and Robin skidded to a halt, diving into a near by bush. Peeking through the bushes winding leaves and branches, they saw that the guard hadn't seen them yet.

The guard started walking around the area, looking out for any movement. Luffy and Robin slowed they're breathing, doing their best to keep their noise down.

"You can't hide forever!" He yelled out into the forest. "…You shouldn't have done what you did…"

"Do you know what you just took?" He surveyed the scenery. "Do you know who we are?"

Luffy and Robin checked for an opening, any opening to take so they could possibly sneak past the black suited man.

"You know about the World Government, but you don't know about the task force they have… to do the work that the marines aren't trained for…what they don't have the stomach for…" The man went on, making Luffy gulp in nervousness.

 ** _"CP9."_** The man voiced out loud.

"We're assassins who go after people that have crossed the line, too many times to count!" The man went on, starting to enjoy the scare he was throwing out to these kids.

"We'll go after anyone the Government wants dead…" Luffy and Robin's eyes widened at this. "Men, women… ** _and children!"_**

Fear ran though the two young ones like an ice cold knife. Robin was starting to weep silently in terror, until Luffy put her hand on hers. Robin looked at the boy, who was giving her a look that said; _'Stay Strong!'_

Robin sniffed back her tears, trying to think of a way out of this. Suddenly, it came to her. She took her hand back from Luffy and made her Hana Hana pose.

In the distance from the two, two bright blue eyes identical to Robin's shown in a far off bush, along with two with a row of hands going down the forest ground. With a shake of the bushes with her spouted hands, Robin managed to grasp the attention of the assassin.

Looking in the direction of the noise, he easily spotted the shining bright eyes in the bush. "Got you!"

The eyes disappeared and the row of arms began shaking bushes one at a time, leading away from the assassin.

"You're not going anywhere!" The assassin vanished in a black blur, following the rushing trail.

After a while to check if the coast was clear, Robin and Luffy released the breath they were each holding. They came out of the bush and looked around for anyone else in the area.

"Robin, that was amazing!" Luffy praised the girl. Robin giggled at her cleverness.

"Thanks to you, Luffy! I'd never have done that if you didn't stop me from being scared!" Robin returned her own compliment.

As the two kids smiled at each other, another voice came from behind them.

"Yes, that was quite impressive!"

Robin and Luffy froze, turning slowly to meet the gaze of Commander Spadine, sneering at them like the cat that got the cream.

"Well, well! Two devil fruit eaters, and both of you children no less!" The green suited man chuckled darkly. "That's going to make my report on this investigation all the more interesting!"

The CP9 director spotted the gold transponder snail under Luffy's arm.

"Now, why don't you be a good little boy and hand that snail over to me…" Spadine said as convincingly nice as he could muster, which wasn't much.

Luffy hid the device behind his back. "You're going to use it to blow up this island, aren't you?!"

Spadine did a double take of this, then returned to his 'jolly' demeanor. "I only said that because I was upset about my coat getting torn, that's all!" He tried to wave it off, but the kids weren't buying it. "I would never blow up an island of innocent people!"

"Then why did the marines kill an entire ship of scholars who wanted to study the ponoglyphs?!" Robin sprang her question on the slimy commander.

"So you heard that too…" Spadine caught himself. "I-I mean I had nothing to do with that! Honest!"

Luffy and Robin kept glaring at the oily liar of a man. Spadine cleared his throat, making a chance to start again.

"Listen! Deciphering the ponoglyphs is a crime! Everybody knows that! You could get in really, really, **really** big trouble for it! I'm just here to investigate if anyone else on this island has been doing the same as they were!"

"…By pulling out the root?!" Robin stated, saying Spadine's lines, word for word.

The green suited man's face fell. "Smart little one, aren't you…"

"Smarter than you, that's for sure!" Luffy piped up.

"…That's it!" Spadine had reached his limit on this charade. Next thing to happen, the man pulled out a sword from behind his back.

"Give me that snail, **_right now!_** "

Luffy and Robin gain a face of horror at the weapon. Acting fast on instinct, Robin struck her Hana Han pose quick, and two hands sprout out from both Spadine's shoulders and slapped themselves over his eyes.

"What the?! HEY! I Can't see!" Spadine wrestled with the handover his eyes, swinging his sword like the blind man he currently was. As he did, Luffy launched his arm in the air and grabbed a branch. Robin clung onto him and the two rocketed into the air, pulling themselves up onto the branch, all the while watching Spadine fight with himself over control of his sight.

After the arms disappeared, Spadine looked around and found the two up the tree.

"GET DOWN HERE AND GIVE ME THAT SNAIL!" He bellowed.

Luffy pulled his rubber cheeks apart and stuck his tongue out at spadine. "Why don't you come up here and make us!"

"We're not going to let you destroy this island!" Robin declared proudly.

Grinding his teeth together, Spadine was reaching the end of his patience. He ran to the trunk of the tree and began to climb up it, grunting and fuming all the way up.

"When I get that snail back… I'm going to make you two watch… As I blast this whole miserable island, **into oblivion!"**

Before he reached the top, Luffy shot his arm out to another branch of another tree. Robin clung to him once more and the two swung over to safety, Spadine making a snatch out for the two when he finally reached the top.

As the two children landed on the branch, the one Spadine was on began to creak and crack. Looking over, the commander noticed that the branch was breaking. With a look of bewilderment, Spadine went crashing to the ground, with the thick branch landing right on top of him.

The two young ones couldn't help but laugh at this. The seriousness of their situation was far away from their minds.

Spadine lurched his way out from under the branch and picked himself up, along with his sword. Looking back up at the laughing children, his temper began to flare up once more.

 **"I WILL NOT BE HUMILIATED BY A PAIR OF BRATS LIKE YOU!"**

"Looks like your'e doing a good job of it anyway!" Luffy laughed out loud again, while robin clutched her stomach she was laughing so hard.

Spadine was so overcome with fury, he began to hack at the tree the two were standing in wildly.

"What are you doing?" Robin wondered.

"I'M CUTTING DOWN THIS TREE!" Spadine hollered in his frazzled state.

"But that could take you forever…" Luffy chimed in.

"SHUT UP!" The government official screeched, not wanting to her any logic from a mere child.

The two chuckled a bit more at this, before Luffy tapped Robin on the shoulder. "Hey, Robin!"

The girl looked over at the boy, who placed the gold snail on his head, sideways as to not accidentally press it, then placed his straw hat on top. He showed his back to her and motioned for her to climb on. Robin did as was instructed and wrapped her arms around Luffy's neck.

"No matter what, hold on tight!" Luffy instructed.

Robin nodded, and the next thing that happened, Luffy had leaped into their to another branch like it was nothing.

"How did you ** _do_** that?!" Robin kept getting surprised by this boy more and more.

"Me and my brothers run around the jungle all the time! Jumping like this comes naturally now!" Luffy grinned as he started to leap from tree to tree.

Caught in a state of disbelief, Spadine shook himself out of it and gave chase to the two children that were giving him the runaround.

"I'M GOING TO GET THAT SNAIL AND GUT YOU BRATS, IF IT'S THE LAST THING I'LL DO!"

* * *

Garp kept pacing back and forth, preying for any good news that Luffy was okay. Olivia just sat on her knees, looking at the forest before her, hoping beyond hope for Robin to just come bursting out of them and running into her arms. Clover stood beside her, looking out to the forest as well. Saul looked down at the three of them and back at the forest. Being a giant, you'd think you'd have the power to do anything you wanted. Everything except make two lost kids appear out of thin air.

The government agents just stood around like lost sheep, wondering where their commander had disappeared too. The marines kept up their guard of the library, following their admiral's orders. The squad that went out to find Luff and robin hadn't returned yet, making them hope more and more for the little straw hat boy's safety.

The scholars inside the library sat around the place, growing more and more impatient and the cabin fever starting to get to them. Looking out the window, they could see Nico Olivia beside Clover, showing that if they were still alive, they had a chance of living as well. Still, they thought more about the chance of Robin being reunited with her mother going by without her even knowing it. That thought weighed down on the scholars immensely.

The civilians of Ohara just watched on from a safe distance, wondering what in the world was going on. Marines and agents alike barred them from getting any closer, resulting in a few disagreements. If this situation didn't get sorted out soon, Ohara would be looking at a full blown riot, along with a downpour of hellfire just waiting in the distance of the unaware island.

The tension in the air was so strangling, even breathing was too risky in case of setting someone off.

Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes alerted everyone present. Looking onward, two black suited men came out of the forest, darting their vision in every direction. One of them spotted the navy officer heading in their direction.

"V-vice admiral Garp!" The assassins instantly stood at attention.

"You two! State your rank!" Garp barked.

The two agents stood at attention before the hero of the navy. "CP9, sir!"

"CP9? What business do you have here?!" Garp had a gut feeling, but he needed to hear it from the two before him.

"We are here to provide protection for Chief spadine, sir!" The black dressed guard stated.

"And where exactly **_is_** you're commanding chief?" The feeling that the two were getting from the vice admiral, it felt like they were being interrogated.

"Two children managed to get their hands on the Buster Call trigger, sir! We were ordered to pursue and retrieve the device, no matter the cost!" The assassin declared.

A crack of lightning went across the sky and rain began to fall from above.

The air went down a few degrees as the two black dressed agents stared at a fuming Monkey D. Garp.

"Let me ask you…" He spoke in a dark whisper. "Was one of these children wearing a tattered old straw hat?"

The two agents looked at each other before one of them spoke. "Y-yessi-"

The assassin never got to finish as Garp's massive fist bulldozed into his face, sending him flying into a tree, breaking the bark of the trunk on his impact and him sliding down to the ground, out cold in one punch.

The agent still standing looked back at Garp, his fear showing in the waterfall of sweat coming down his brow.

"That boy…" Garp slowly informed. **_"…IS MY GRANDSON!"_**

As Garp expressed his rage on the unsuspecting assassin, the rest of the surrounding agents were at a loss for action, until one brave soul dared to raise his weapon at the unsuspecting vice admiral.

"H-hey! That's enou-" The sound of multiple clicks got the agent and the rest of his comrades attention, looking in the direction of an entire platoon of marines aiming their rifles right at them.

 ** _"Fire on our commander and we fire on you!"_** A marine at the front proclaimed, stopping the other agents in their tracks, not even daring to move.

Upon hearing what the assassin had uttered before being attacked, Olivia was thrown into an even deeper pit of despair. Robin was being hunted down By the World Government!

It's a dream, she reasoned. It was all just a horrible, horrible dream! She was lying in bed, her two year old daughter clinging to her as they both slept. Soon she'd wake up, cancel her voyage for the ponoglyphs and remain on Ohara, making sure that Robin grew up safe and happy!

She clung to her shoulders, hugging herself as the grief consumed her.

Clover didn't know how much more of this he could take, along with everyone else! Ohara's very existence now lied in the hands of two mere children! One of them being Robin! He prayed to whatever deity was listening, to reach down and stop this madness!

Saul clutched at his pants legs. So big! So strong! Yet so useless!

He couldn't take it anymore! He weeped as he looked up into the flashing dark clouds above, the shower of moisture blending in with his own tears. If he made a move and started running around the island looking for the girl, he'd run the risk of provoking the battleships waiting out at sea to open fire, signal or not!

As lightning flashed across the sky, rain began to fall across the island, the dark clouds refusing to leave, mimicking the swirling and chaotic emotions all these people were going through.

The only thing that could put an end to this madness was a miracle!

* * *

As Luffy and Robin bounded from tree branch to tree branch, the Tree of Knowledge was starting to get closer with every leap. As the rain beat down on them, the two still managed to keep up their momentum.

"Were almost there, Luffy!" Robin called out, happy to her favorite place on the island.

"Yeah! Just a little more…!" The straw hat boy leaped in the direction where the large tree stood.

As Luffy jumped from tree to tree, they managed to spot Saul's large frame from their current location.

"WOAH! THAT GUY IS HUGE!" Luffy yelled in amazement.

"SAUL! WE'RE COMING!" Robin shouted out, her voice unable for him to hear.

"We're almost their, Robin!" Luffy informed. Just a few more leaps and they were home free!

When Luffy landed on the next batch he aimed for, his foot suddenly slipped on the damp branch from the rain. Both the kids fell down to the ground, luckily falling onto a bush cushioning their fall.

"Ow…Robin, you okay?" Luffy picked himself up from his landing spot.

"Yeah…I think so…" Robin voiced as she nursed her sore head.

"Not for long, you won't be…"

That voice made the two kids flinch in terror. Turning around, they once again, in a flash of thunder, came face to face with a battered, bruised and very upset Spadine, his clothes ripped and tattered after chasing them though out the forest.

"Looks like your luck's finally run out…" The mad looking commander stepped slowly towards them, his sword still clutched in his hand. "And finally coming back in my favor…"

Luffy and Robin both stepped backwards, the fear they managed to outmaneuver for so long finally catching up to them.

"Who do you think you are?" The crazed chief of CP9 whispered. "You're just two little brats! Two little devil fruit **_freaks!_** Up against the World government! Do you have any idea what I could do to you?!"

"I could have your entire families killed in their homes! Turn your home islands into work camps and put you to work like animals! Or even ship you off to the Celestials! I hear they love to torture devil fruit eaters like you for fun!"

All the while he was talking, Luffy and Robin's fear was growing bigger and bigger, tears threatening to fall from their eyes.

"You can't fight! You can't use your powers straight! You're too weak to even stand! And no one's coming to save you!" Spadine cackled mockingly.

Robin clung onto Luffy, the fear starting to get the best of her. Luffy looked back at her, and suddenly, something inside him burned away all the fear in him.

"WHAT CAN YOU POSSIBLY DO NOW?!" Spadine raised his sword above his head.

Luffy grasped Robin's hand, making the girl look at him, seeing the look of determination in his eyes once again.

"We can keep running!" Luffy declared. Luffy took off with Robin being pulled behind him.

Spadine grunted in disgust at their feeble attempts and merely picked up the pace of his walk, not even bothering to exert himself.

Luffy and Robin kept running as fast as their short legs could take them.

"Luffy?" Robin voiced out in her exhausted state. The boy looked back at her, still running to their destination. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for being my friend!" Robin smiled as her eyes shown with unshed tears.

Luffy gaped at her before coming out if it and running even faster, causing Robin to stumble a bit.

"We're still going to be friends, Robin!" Luffy refused to let things end here.

Spadine began to pick up his speed a bit, the image of the Tree of Knowledge beginning to look closer than before.

"No…" He muttered. "No,no, **NO!** " He began to sprint after the two children, sword over his head, ready to swing.

Luffy and Robin kept running to the end of the forest, the half crazy Spadine hot on their tail.

With the Tree of Knowledge finally in front of them through a last cluster of trees, Luffy and robin gave a loud, terrified cry.

* * *

The sound of screaming was heard by everyone around the Tree, all looking toward the forest. Just as everyone looked in the direction of the noise, Luffy and Robin came bursting out of the forest, looking scared beyond belief.

"GRANDPA!" Luffy wailed.

"HELP US!" Robin cried out.

"Luffy?!" Garp yelled stupefied.

"Robin?!" Olivia gasped in astonishment.

The next thing to come out of the forest was a raging Chief Spadine, holding his sword above his head, ready to strike.

The two children stumbled to the ground, their legs completely out of strength. Luffy's hat flew off his head as he fell, a golden object tumbling out of it. Spadine was on the kids, ready to swing his blade.

 ** _"YOU, AND THIS WHOLE ISLAND, NO LONGER HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXIST!"_**

Luffy and Robin clung onto each other, waiting for the inevitable pain to come.

After some time past and no pain had come, the two children cracked their eyes open, seeing Garp had intercepted Spadine, and now stood between him and them.

"Chief Spadine…" Garp spoke in a calm voice that held back a storm more fierce than the one above them. "Exactly what do you think your'e doing…" Spadine recognized the vice admiral instantly, beginning to quake in his shoes. "Chasing after children, with a sword in your hand?"

"I-I…I…" Spadine's mind was a complete blank. Every thought of murdering the two kids that had humiliated him and annihilating Ohara went right out the window, leaving him with nothing to say to defend himself.

"Hey, what's that?" A marine spotted something shining on the ground by Luffy's hat.

Everyone turned to it and dropped every one of their jaws.

 ** _"That's the Buster Call trigger!"_** An agent blurted out, making the chief commander shake in fear on a further level.

Luffy spotted it and ran over to it, grabbing it and holding out to his grandpa.

"He was gonna blow up the whole island because a tree snagged on his coat!" Luffy shouted for all to hear. Many of the civilians there didn't believe such an excuse, but the marines, a few agents, scholars, Garp, Olivia, Clover and Saul knew and believed that Spadine was just that spiteful to do so.

"I-It's a precaution!" The crooked officer piped up. "If we managed to find any evidence of the scholars the navy intercepted had come from Ohara, that would have been what we needed to…"

Looking around, Spadine could tell from all the dark looks being given to him, that he was not helping his own case with what was coming out of his mouth.

 **"** ** _Your'e not going to take the word of a child over a government official! Are you?!"_** He desperately roared.

Garp knew that Luffy was telling the truth. He was always too honest for his own good. Seriously, any time he tried to lie, he would physically show that he was being dishonest.

"If it's my grandson, then yes!" Garp inquired.

"Y-your'e…Your'e…" Spadine felt like wetting himself for realizing that he had just tried to cut down **_Monkey D. Garp's Grandson!_**

"You know what?" Garp's tone switched to a casual one. He then proceeded to ram his fist up Spadine's jaw, sending him flying in the air with a Garp powered uppercut. "We can talk about this later."

Chief Spadine fell from the high altitude to the ground with a harsh slam to the face, the rest of him then falling front first onto the ground. His tongue was sticking out of his open mouth, revealing a few missing teeth.

"Robin!" Clover ran to the girl and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you all right?!"

"Clover!" Robin then melted down into tears as she shoved her face into the professor's shoulder. "I was so scared! He was gonna …and…" robin blubbered out loud, braking the old man's heart.

"It's okay, Robin!" The aging scholar comforted his surrogate daughter by stroking her head. "Your safe now! I've got you…I've got you…"

Suddenly, the front door of the library burst out, all the scholars inside running to Robin's aid.

"Robin!"

"Are you okay?"

"What did that horrible man do to you?!"

Robin just looked around at all their concerned faces, happy to be cared for and looked upon by other people so much. She suddenly gained a look of shock and switched her head back to Clover.

"Professor! I think I left a book out in the forest somewhere! I'm sorry I lost it…" Robin's frown nearly came back, before a laugh from the aging archeologist stopped her.

"That's okay, Robin…" Clover's voice cracked as he nearly broke down as well. "I'll let you off the hook this time…"

Garp stomped up to Luffy, who's face was hidden by his hat. "Luffy!" Garp snatched the gold snail out of the boy's hand, shoving into his coat pocket. "Do you have any idea what you were doing?! Have you lost what little sense you have?! What could have possessed you to-"

 ** _"I'm not sorry!"_** The outburst caught Garp off guard, peering down at Luffy as he lifted his head, trying to hold back a flood of tears.

"I'm not sorry! I'm glad I stood up to that ugly suited jerk! I didn't want Robin to lose her home! I didn't want that creep to have his way! And I didn't…I didn't…"

The anger inside Garp evaporated as he slowly walked up to his grandson and kelt down in front of him.

"You're not going to cry?" He asked gently.

"No…" Luffy held his emotions back.

"Why not?" Garp went on to probe.

"Because if I do, it'll show I'm weak…" Garp raised an eyebrow at this.

"I cried when Shanks left…I cried when Ace and Sabo saved me…And I don't want to cry again…!" Luffy managed to get out without breaking down.

Garp looked between his close to crying grandson and the weeping girl in the professor's arms. Garp sighed out his frustrations, letting his temper melt away. He placed his hands on Luffy's shoulders, making the boy look him in the eye.

"Do you know why heroes cry, Luffy?" The straw hatted boy shook his head.

"It's not because their weak…" He said in a tender voice. "It's because they've had to be strong for too long."

Luffy's eyes widened at the information, then began to break down and cry. Garp scooped him up in an embrace, cradling his terrified sibling.

"I'm sorry, Luffy." The vice admiral soothed the boy. "What you did was stupid, but brave… Just like me…I'm so proud of you…"

"I tried to be strong! I didn't want Robin to get hurt! I didn't want that man to…" Luffy burst into a fresh series of wailing. Garp just let the boy cry out his pain, knowing that holding it in never helps in anyway.

"Robin!" Saul leaned his massive face down to see the dark haired girl. "I'm so glad you're okay!" The giant was close to breaking down as well.

"Saul!" Robin greeted, still crying but a smile now replacing her frown. "Are you alright?!"

"Forget me! You're the one that's been through a nightmare!" Saul grizzled as he went back into another fit of crying.

Robin smiled up at him, before a look of realization took over her face. "Luffy!" Robin leaped out of Clover's arms and ran to the boy, who was now being carried in the arms of Garp.

The vice admiral let the boy down, as Luffy stood in front of Robin, awkwardly aiming his sight away from her.

At the same time, the dark clouds from above began to move on and break apart, letting the sunlight shine down on the clearing.

"Are you okay?" Luffy asked passively.

"Mm-hm!" Robin hummed and nodded. "Thanks to you…" She smiled.

Luffy kept looking away from her, which only gave Robin the chance to peck the boy on his cheek. Luffy looked back at the girl in surprise, his face bright red. Robin just kept smiling at him, making him blush more.

"W-why did you **_kiss_** me?!" The boy blurted out.

"Because I wanted to!" Robin answered innocently.

"B-but it's gross!" Luffy yelled.

"It is not!" Robin pouted back.

"Yes, it is!" Luffy defended himself.

"How come?" Robin asked nonchalantly.

"I-it just is!" Luffy was fighting a losing battle, making all the adults in the area begin to brighten up and even laugh at the show in front of them.

Luffy just shouted and scowled at all of them, before catching the glimpse of a tall slender woman with white hair and blue eyes.

"Hey, Robin?" Luffy pointed over to the woman. "That lady kind of looks like you!"

All the laughter around them stopped dead as the two children stared at the woman, standing before them in the clearing.

"Same color of skin, eyes and kind of hair, only it's white!" Luffy went on.

She had been watching from afar this whole time, confused on how to deal with everything that was going on. Now that she had the little dark haired girl's eyes on her, all she could do was stand there and stare back, completely motionless.

Robin stepped toward the woman, wondering where she had seen her before. She could have sworn she remembered that face, but where?

Luffy then decided to ask a question that ended up making all the scholars hold a deep breath.

"Is she your Mom or something?"

Robin's brain clicked, remembering the image of a dark skinned woman with snow white hair, smiling at her as the young girl touched her face with her hands. Such a vague memory, but for some reason at this time, it came to her so clearly.

" ** _Are_** you my Mom?" Robin asked, everything going still as the sun kept shining down on the two, illuminating their presence for everyone watching from afar.

Olivia didn't know what to say.

If she said yes, would Robin even want her in her life?

Should she say no?

Should she fain ignorance and tell her she must be mistaken?

So many possibilities ran through her head, doubt racking through her body and mind. She then looked back at the girl in front of her, those bright blue eyes gazing at her.

Olivia decided to be honest, to tell her the truth and what ever the outcome was, that was what she deserved.

"…Yes…I am…" She responded to Robin's question. The said girl's eyes widened in astonishment.

Olivia began to step toward her. "My name, if you don't remember, is Nico Olivia."

Many marines and government agents gasped and gossiped about this reveal, perplexed to know that the white haired woman had a daughter the whole time. The onlooking civilians that had been watching everything happen, were just as surprised to know that the **_Demon Child_** was the daughter of one of the most talented scholars on the whole island.

Garp just watched on, a stern gaze in his eyes the whole time. Clover and the scholars were waiting in anticipation for whatever would come next, along with Saul watching from up high. Luffy had no idea what was going on between the two, but thought it best to keep quiet.

"…I remember…" Robin began to step forward as well, meeting her long lost mother half way.

"Clover told me, on our way to the library," Olivia brought up. "That you aced the archeology exam, with flying colors!"

The two women met each other and stopped walking, looking back at one another in silence. Olivia then bent down to meet her daughters gaze.

"I'm truly proud of you…" she showed a bright smile, before frowning and tears beginning to leak from her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Robin…" she sobbed, not wanting to look away from the girl in front of her, wanting to be upfront an honest with her baby girl. "I never should have left you alone…" Robin began to tear up as well. "I hope you never forgive me for what I did…" The two girls were now shedding their built up emotions. "I don't deserve to be in your life…If you want me to disappear and never come back, I will-"

 ** _"NO!"_** Robin screeched, taking her mother by surprise. What took Olivia by even more surprise was when Robin lunged at her and wrapped her arms around her neck and buried her face into the hair going down the woman's shoulder.

" ** _DON'T LEAVE ME! …Please…"_**

Olivia, being frozen in shock, listened to her daughter's words.

"I always thought…" The little girl managed to speak. "That if I did what you do…If I studied the same things as you did…I'd end up finding you…" She pulled away from her shoulder and met her mother's eyes again. "And I did! …I found you…I finally found you…"

"Robin…" Olivia couldn't take it anymore. She wrapped her arms around the daughter she hadn't seen for six years and cried along with Robin, who was so happy to see her mother again. The two held each other, letting their pain come through and the missing places in their hearts become full.

Clover and the scholars were breaking down in happy tears, overjoyed for Robin and Olivia to be back together again. Saul was wailing in happiness so loud, he could be heard across the whole island. Many of the marines were even weeping from being touched by the surrounding emotions.

Garp had a warm smile on his face, while Luffy just beamed his toothy grin, happy that his friend was happy.

After a long moment of shedding tears, the two girls wiped their eyes, still smiling at the reunion. Robin then took her mother's hand and lead her over to the vice admiral and the straw hatted boy.

"Momma…" Robin dared to say, which only brought a smile and some more tears to the white haired scholar's eyes. "This is Luffy… He's…my friend!" Robin proudly stated, making Luffy grin happily. "He kept me safe from that man." Robin pointed over at the still unconscious Spadine.

Olivia looked down at the boy,then knelt down before him and took his hands in hers. "Thank you for keeping my Robin safe." She beamed a smile.

"No problem!" Luffy showed his toothy grin. "Robin's my friend, and I'd never want to see her hurt!" Robin blushed at the boy's words, which Olivia caught on to.

Garp walked up to the woman and children, catching their attention with his presence.

"You have an amazing grandson…" Olivia complimented.

"Don't I know it!" Garp ruffled Luffy's hair, beaming proudly at the boy.

Hiding behind a house, far off from the clearing, the group of kids that were picking onRobin earlier that day watched on and heard everything.

"That stretchy kid's grandpa…is a navy marine?!" 'Bad-afro' blanched.

"I heard one of those guys he beat up say that he was a vice admiral!" 'Egg-head' remembered.

"And you knocked that kid's hat off his head…" 'Pig-nose' brought up.

"S-shut up, no I didn't" 'Carrot-head' denied.

"So that's that freaky girl's mom, is it?" 'Bad-afro' asked out loud.

"I don't think we should say that anymore…" 'Pig-nose' deduced.

"Yeah, isn't that lady a wanted criminal?" 'Carrot-head' deciphered.

"In that case, I'm never going near that girl again…" 'Egg-head' said out loud, making the rest of the kids nod in agreement. After everything they did to Robin, the last thing they wanted was a criminal hunting them down for revenge.

After the tension had begun to lift from the crowd of civilians, they started to murmur Soon enough, they began to shout and shake their fists in the air.

"Hey, what the heck's been going on here?!"

"What's the world government and the navy even doing here?!"

"What's this got to do with the scholars of the tree?!"

"Is this their fault?!"

"Does this have to do with that **_Demon brat_** over there?!"

"I'll bet it does! Why don't you just cart that **_little freak_** off to prison all ready?!"

The yelling began to get louder and the crowd looked close to starting a riot. Olivia was beside herself in fury.

"Is this how everyone on this island has been treating you?!" She asked her daughter. Robin's silence was all the answer she needed. The mother looked back at the raving people in complete and utter disgust, both at them and herself.

Luffy was about to start shouting at the crowd for talking that way about Robin, until Garp decided to put an end to all of this himself. He stepped forward in front of Luffy, filling his lungs with breath.

"ATTENTION! PEOPLE OF OHARA!" The vice admiral hollered, making all of the crazed populace stop dead in their tirade.

"You have not been aware, but your homeland has been at great risk!" This got the attention of every one of the civilians present.

"Four days ago, the navy received information of a ship of scholars attempting to decipher the ancient ponoglyhs! They were intercepted and punished for their crime!" Olivia, Clover and the rest of the scholars grimaced at the mention of the incident.

"Commander Spadine attempted to 'investigate' the island of Ohara with the intention of finding any proof that they were doing as such! If he managed to find said proof, he would have issued a **_Buster Call_** , and have the entire island raised from the sea!"

Looks of horror took shape on every one of the civilians.

"However," Garp walked back to the two children behind him and picked them both up, placing them on either side of his shoulders. "These two brave young souls, not wanting to see this island destroyed, managed to steal the device that would have signaled the attack and evaded him, and his men's attempts to retrieve it!"

The people of Ohara looked at the two children, one being a straw hat wearing boy, with a large toothy grin plastered on his face, and the other being the labeled **_Demon child_** , looking at all of them wondering how to handle having so much attention being placed on her.

"Choose to be grateful, or choose to deny it, but the truth is here for all to see!" Garp held the two on his shoulders high.

 ** _"THESE COURAGEOUS CHILDREN…ARE YOUR HEROES!"_**

The sun shown through, completely breaking apart the storm clouds that once filled the sky, casting down on the children that had saved the island of Ohara from a fate worse than death.

None of the civilians made a move or a sound, unable to acknowledge what the aged marine officer was saying. Luffy and Robin began to look discouraged at the silence, wondering why all their effort earned them such a cold reaction.

From behind them, a clap sounded out, then another and another. The two children turned their heads around to see Professor Clover giving them an applause. Olivia was right behind Clover's lead, clapping her hands for the straw hat boy, and her daughter who she couldn't be more proud of. The rest of the scholars and archeologists of the Tree of Knowledge followed suit, showing their appreciation by causing the applause to grow louder and even began to cheer. Saul slammed his massive mitts together, the sound of his claps echoing out for miles.

The marines who had been standing guard of the library applauded the bravery of the children as well, respecting how they stood up for what they believed was right and saving hundreds of lives. The government agents on the other hand didn't even try to applaud, sour at the fact that their entire attempt at an 'investigation' of the island, had been ruined by a **_pair of kids!_**

Soon, a fair number of civilians began to clap for the young ones, while the rest appeared to not be grateful in the slightest, refusing to see the demon girl as a hero, going so far as to not believe a word that the hero of the navy was saying.

Back to the group of kids that were hiding from everyone present, 'Bad-afro' began to clap as well. The rest wondered what he was doing, until 'Egg-head' looked ahead and began to clap as well. 'Pig-nose' followed after them, and after wrestling with his hesitation and stubbornness, 'Carrot-head' joined them and clapped along too.

Excluding the ones that weren't clapping, a loud, thundering applause resounded around Luffy and Robin, as they took in the sight of all the people giving them thanks for saving their lives.

Robin looked over at Luffy, smiling wide at the sensation of being praised. "We're heroes, Luffy!" She happily proclaimed happily.

"Yeah…" Luffy cracked his signature large, toothy grin. "…Still prefer to be a pirate though!"

The two children smiled and looked back at the people applauding them, the sun shining bight over the island that the two young ones had managed to spare from total disaster.


	4. The Recompense of Deeds Done

**_The Recompense of Deeds Done_**

The next few days on the island of Ohara were a complete whirlwind of events.

After the near fiasco Spadine came close to setting off, the first thing Garp wanted to do was have chat with the slimy government official's superiors; **The Five Elder Stars.**

The Stars were the heads of the world government and the navy. What ever act they saw fit to be as true justice, they deemed righteous to issue. Apparently, that also went for the total annihilation of an entire island.

Garp not only wanted to speak to them about this, but also wished to have fleet admiral Sengoku present. The vice admiral wanted to have a word about him for turning a deaf ear to this insanity.

Since they couldn't have this meeting with everyone in person, vice admiral Garp and commander Spadine contacted the six higher ups using transponder snails, having they're meeting on Garp's vessel, keeping it private from the outside world.

Even though Spadine was highly against having this meeting, he wasn't about to go against the hero of the navy's wishes, not after his last punishment at his hands.

Professor Clover also wanted to have a say in the matters and was aloud to join in on the exchange.

The resulting conference was loud and biased, with parties struggling to keep their cool and those losing it.

The Five Holy Star's we're flabbergasted of Garp coming out of nowhere and meddling into their private affairs! They cursed Spadine under their breaths for his negligence and incompetence. They blamed Clover for him and his colleagues even going near one of the ponoglyphs in the first place. They were even more outraged when they were informed of two **_children_** , having the gall to intercept the chief of CP9 and make off with the device that could activate a buster call!

Needless to say, the Stars we're upset.

Spadine ranted and raved to be allowed to investigate the Tree of Knowledge for evidence that the scholars were indeed translating the ponoglyphs and demanded the right to Buster Call the island if any evidence were found. He was not taking his humiliation quietly.

However, Clover's confession to hiding a ponoglyph under the tree took the wind out of the commander's sails. All that glory…gone without even being able to reach for it!

Clover confessed to his and his colleagues attempts to decipher the stone slab, saying that they were unable to get further than a few sentences. The professor looked over to Garp, sharing a quick look that said that there was more to his story than he was letting on. Wanting to avoid a massacre of an entire island, Garp kept the secret exchange between them.

Garp then spoke up, offering the fact that destroying an entire island would be the worst example of 'justice' the five stars could allow to happen, and proposed an alternative. The fact that his grandson was nearly killed by Spadine himself gave the vice admiral a lot of leverage in the argument…

The island of Ohara would be spared, leaving the massacre of scholars out at sea being the prime example of punishment for anyone else wishing to translate the ponoglyphs. Unfortunately, any evidence and progress the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge had on the stone slab would have to be erased, even going so far as to offer the ponoglyph to be confiscated by Spadine and taken back to Navy H.Q. Where it could never be seen by the outside world again, in return for their silence and their lives.

Clover was against this, but comparing the alternative to this, he reluctantly agreed.

There had been enough bloodshed… It had to end…

The Five Holy Stars wished to discuss the terms amongst themselves and switched off their transponder snail. They conversed on weather or not to just have the island eradicated anyway, not wishing to let any chance of the ponoglyphs deciphered secrets get out to the rest of the world.

They were indeed hiding something…

They even discussed weather or not to have Monkey D. Garp stricken from the navy and executed for treason, but how would that play out?

'The hero of the navy, cut out of the marines and executed right out of the blue!' The world would be in an uproar. Garp has helped many islands across the globe, saved thousands of lives and brought in many a pirate in his heyday. Doing this would ruin their portrayal of justice in the public's eye.

They turned down the idea, switched their snail back on, and agreed to the terms.

The meeting went on for another two days…

* * *

Even though the Buster Call was halted, the issue had not been completely resolved, putting the whole island of Ohara in a standstill.

As the meeting of officials went on, Saul, along with the Tree of Knowledge, were surrounded by a mix of marine soldiers and government agents, armed and keeping guard of the area, making sure that the giant or any of the scholars didn't try to escape. To make things a little more comfortable for the current suspects, tents were set up around the tree to give them all a place to rest after the threat of near disaster loomed over them for so long.

The marines and agents had been giving each other dirty glances, each side waiting for the other to try something. Garp and a reluctant Spadine ordered their men to stand guard of the library, with the agents barred from carrying out any investigating of the library.

The tension between the two forces was thick and tense, but neither side tried anything. There had been enough conflict already.

The reunited mother and daughter, Nico Olivia and Nico Robin, had made a home out of one of the tents, spending most of their time with Olivia cradling her long lost daughter in her arms, while Robin snuggled deep into her near forgotten mother's warm embrace. Each of them just enjoyed the contact of one another, never wanting to be separated again.

Luffy usually walked around the tents, meeting all the other scholars of the library, who thanked him for protecting Robin every time they saw him, to which he only smiled and said it was nothing. The straw hat boy even ended up talking with Saul, both of them having fun getting to know one another and Luffy mimicking Saul's strange signature laugh when he did. He even had a proper greeting with Robin's mother, where they got to know each other a bit more, even learning of where he lived in the East Blue.

Another activity the boy occasionally indulged in to pass the time was eating… a lot. A mess tent was set up for anyone hungry and Luffy was chief among the visiting masses. The boy was like a vacuum cleaner, no body knew where he put it all. Seeing the outstretched stomach he ended up walking out with answered everyone's question.

With the marines and agents keeping a guarded circle around the tree and Saul, the civilians had trouble getting close to see the commotion going on inside. Even though the threat of their island being destroyed was gone for now, the hostile feelings for being in such a predicament in the first place was certainly there. Most of the feelings they had we're pointed at the scholars, Olivia and Robin.

The whole island remained in this state of abnormality for as long as the meeting went on.

On the third day of the standstill, Garp, Clover and Spadine emerged from Garp's ship, tired and worn out from the arguing and hostile words.

Once Garp shared the information to everyone present at the tree, the scholars were up in arms, believing that destroying their progress was a spit in the eye on their lost comrade's needless sacrifice. Clover chimed in and agreed to Garp's terms, making the rest of the scholars reluctantly agree as well.

Then another subject that had been discussed with the Stars came up, one that every one of the scholars hoped would have been forgotten in all their commotion; Nico Olivia's fate.

"Nico Olivia!" The hero of the navy faced the woman and her daughter.

"For crimes of abolishing the laws dictated by the World Government, for attempting to decipher the ancient ponoglyphs, you are found guilty!"

Olivia cringed at the words and Robin looked like she was about to burst into tears.

The scholars were fuming at the very notion. "Are you just going to stand there and let this happen, Clover?!" Screamed an archeologist at the library director. Clover meanwhile, remained silent, not wanting to interrupt the man announcing Olivia's demise.

Saul looked down at Garp, both physically and figuratively. He had so much faith in the vice admiral, but he was starting to act like all the other heartless officers in the navy.

Spadine just stood to the side, facing away from the spectacle taking place. Strange how a person how enjoyed the suffering of others wouldn't want to get a good look at what was taking place.

"GRANDPA, HOW COULD YOU?!" Luffy roared as he ran up to the old man, before two marines managed to catch him by the arms, only for the boy's arms to stretch and snap him back to them like a rubber band.

 ** _"Let me go!"_** The straw hatted boy struggled in the marines grasp, wanting to stop what was happening.

"You are to be placed under arrest…!" Garp continued.

Olivia was quickly planning on grabbing Robin and making a run for her rowboat on the East side of the island.

"…Under my authority!" Garp finished, stopping everyone's train of thought.

"Your sentence is be taken back to foosha Village in the East blue, where you will be placed under house arrest! You will not be allowed to leave once you set foot on the island, and have a twenty-four hour visiting permit for anyone wanting to meet with you!" All the while that Garp was talking, Olivia's face was turning brighter and brighter at the words that Garp wasn't saying.

"Do you plan to evade capture any longer, Nico Olivia?" Garp questioned.

Motion came back to the woman, who absorbed all of Garp's words and smiled with tears her eyes.

"No, vice admiral Garp," Olivia picked up her teary eyed daughter. "I will happily come quietly!"

"MOMMA! NO!" Robin pleaded despairingly, not catching on to the unspoken agreement.

"No, Robin, it's not what you think!" Olivia quickly calmed her child. "I will be going to Foosha Village in the East Blue to live…" She began to tear up again. "With you!"

Robin gained a confused look before she realized what her mother was saying. She looked back Garp, who had a knowing smile on his face. Robin began to tear up herself and began to cry for the unknown number of times.

"Momma!" The little dark haired girl clung to her mother and cried into her shoulder.

"Robin!" Olivia happily returned the embrace, shedding her own happy tears.

The marines let go of Luffy, who had finally calmed down and had a puzzled look on his face. "Wait, I'm confused! What's going on?!"

"I'm coming home with you, Luffy!" Robin turned to smile at her new friend. "I'm going to live in the East blue with you and my mom!"

Luffy gained a look of ecstatic joy. "Really?! ** _AWESOME!"_**

All the scholars that had been listening laughed and cheered for the mother and daughter, happy with the outcome that had transpired for the two.

Looking back, Garp spotted Spadine walking away in a hunched over manner. "Not going to stick around, Spadine?"

"I have a ponoglyph to confiscate!" The chief of CP9 spat back, bitter about the outcome of his attempts.

"Well, I'll see you back at H.Q!" Garp laughed heartily, showing with his face that meant no hard feelings, but the laugh said otherwise.

"Stuff it, you meddling old fart…!" The government official growled under his breath.

All of his efforts…All of his hard earned plotting and scheming…ruined! Ruined by a pair of little **_brats!_**

Spadine looked back to the smiling faces of the two that foiled his plans.

 ** _Monkey D. Luffy_** and **_Nico Robin…_**

Somehow, someday…he would make them both… ** _pay…_**

"U-uh…Garp?" Saul, who had been among the crowd looked down at the vice admiral, concern all over his face. "What about me?"

Robin looked up again, fear coming to her again for her giant friend.

"Since you had a hand in saving Ohara, the Five Star's agreed to let you evade arrest…for now!" Garp informed.

"So…I'm not allowed back in the navy?" Saul said aloud.

"Even if you did come back, everyone there would deem you a traitor anyhow!" Garp pointed out.

"I guess…" Saul sadly agreed. "But, you know…Its for the best!"

Saul stood up and looked out to the horizon.

"Now that I'm on the run, it can give me a chance to do some good, some **_real_** good! I can sail the seas, helping folks that the government and navy can't!" Saul let out a hearty tear jerking laugh.

"So…you won't be coming with us?" The small voice took Saul out of his laugh and made him look down into the sad eyes of Nico Robin.

"My time here is done, Robin! Ohara is safe and you have your mother back!" Saul tried to reason, but it just made more tears leek out of the little girl's eyes.

"Robin, I'd be too big to live where you're going! It's not that I don't want to, it'll just be impossible!" What Saul was saying was true, but that didn't make it easier for Robin to hear.

The giant then leaned down a little closer, wanting to speak with Robin up close.

"Listen, Robin. Where ever I am, on the sea, in the Grand Line, on a far away island, it won't matter the distance! No matter where I go or who else I meet…you will always be my friend!"

"R-really?" Robin sniffed as she weeped.

"You bet!" Saul took a glance at Luffy quickly. "Besides, you're going home with another friend, aren't you?"

Robin looked to Luffy, who showed a wide smile. Robin blushed at this, but didn't try to hide it.

"Yeah…" Robin wiped her eyes and then hugged the tip of Saul's nose.

"I'm gonna miss you, Saul…"

Saul then began to cry, but this time, not because he was laughing.

"I-i'll m-miss y-you t-too, R-Robin!" Saul blubbered as Robin broke down crying again.

It was a mixture between happiness and sadness that afternoon for all present, and the tossing and turning of emotions wasn't over yet…

* * *

The captains of the battleships surrounding the island had been informed of the circumstances, waiting patiently for whatever the outcome the meeting between the officials would come to.

When they got word that the attack was canceled, the ships changed course and headed back for H.Q.

On two of the battleships of the canceled Buster Call, two leaders of the vessel's we're taking the news in different ways.

"We're sorry again for the inconvenience, Admiral Kuzan!" A marine saluted as he bellowed his apology.

"That's fine and all, but if you could please…" The admiral slammed his newspaper down in full blown anger. "STOP WAKING ME UP, ALREADY?!"

"Y-yessir! Sorry, sir!" The marine quickly marched away, not wanting to tick the admiral off anymore.

Kazan then looked out at the spared island while aboard the ship he was lounging on. "All of Ohara…saved by two kids, hmm?"

He placed the newspaper he had in his hand over his face, letting sleep come to him again.

"I'm gonna have to meet those two one day…"

On another battleship, held up in a dark room, a man wearing a dark red suit that resembled the color of blood, sat at his desk while being informed of the change in plans.

"T-the news came f-from the f-five s-stars themselves…A-admirl S-sakazuki, sir!" The poor quivering marine spoke.

Instead of agreeing to the terms, Sukazuki chose to clutch his fist in suppressed rage, his bawled fist beginning to erect steam.

"S-sir?" The marine asked fearfully.

"Leave me." Was all the marine needed to hear to let him get out of there as fast as he could.

As the steam coming from the admiral's fist grew thicker and thicker, the desk it was placed upon began to boil and bubble. When Sukazuki began to breath through his nose in a slow, unsettling pace, the desk was beginning to melt.

"Senile old fools…" Sukasuki whispered as he continued to brood alone in the dark, the only sources of light being the ember of the lit cigar clenched in his teeth and his glowing red fist, melting part of his desk into a hot unrepairable sludge.

* * *

As night came over the island of Ohara, the feelings of the day turned to those of mourning.

That night, the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge gathered their research and findings to do with the ponoglyph, made a large bonfire in front of the library and burned their findings from the world. It was a sad experience, but they knew that if Ohara had any chance of seeing another day, they had to do this. Compared to the punishment that the marines gave they're comrades at sea, this was practically a slap on the wrist.

The government agents had successfully found the ponoglyph in the basement of the library. With the marines watching over them the whole time, the agents managed to bring the slab of stone out, without harming any of the libraries furniture or literature.

Had the agents had there way and investigated the area, the whole tree would have been ransacked and books discarded without care. Even with the ponoglyph gone, the library still stood and the Tree of knowledge would live on for many more eons…

Robin and Olivia were among the gathering, shedding small tears at the loss of so much hard work being burned. But the sacrifice of knowledge would not all be in vain. Olivia had ben reunited with her daughter and didn't plan to leave her again.

As the smoke of the fire flowed into the sky, Garp walked up behind Olivia, sharing the event of seeing their work go up in flames.

"Just so you know, you won't be allowed to do any more research on any other cultures from her on out." The vice admiral brought up.

It was the truth. Among the many things discussed with the Five Stars and Sengoku, Garp had managed to bring the white haired scholar's punishment down a few degrees. The scholars would not suffer any other punishment and Ohara would be spared, as long as they stayed away from the mystery of the ponoglpyhs for good. Nico Olivia however, was banned from ever studying any other cultures again.

"I imagined something like that would happen." Olivia breathed, accepting that fact. "but I was planning on retiring from archeology anyway."

Robin looked up at her mother when she said this.

"Besides," Olivia picked up her daughter and held her close. "I have more important matters to attend to." She spoke proudly as she snuggled her daughter, who couldn't help but smile a little.

Garp looked at the happy mother and daughter, then back at the bonfire. "We'll be leaving for the East Blue tomorrow afternoon." He informed.

"That's fine," Olivia put her daughter back down, not wanting her to see the stern face that appeared on her face.

"There's a matter of business that I need to attend to…"

* * *

Auntie Roji was furious.

When she had found some food missing from the kitchen some days ago, Roji deduced that Robin had 'stolen' it. Instead of going out to look for her, she had made the choice, for her and her family, to wait for her to come back, but secretly, she hoped she'd never have to see that girl again.

Goji always thought of Robin as a waste of food, money, clothes, time and space. Olivia should have just taken her brat with her and never come back. When she married the white haired woman's brother to have a family with, it was a dream come true! But then that wretched sister-in-law of hers had to go gallivanting off to hunt down some stupid rocks, and leave her with the tedious act of looking after Robin.

And looked after her she did! Goji made her do all the housework, barely fed her, gave he tattered old clothes that her own daughter grew out of, and how did that brat thank her? By crying all the time for not having a mother! She even had the nerve to eat a blasted Devil Fruit! Not only was she a brat, she was a freak!

Sure, Roji beat Robin when she didn't do what she was told? So what if Roji handed her old tatted clothes that her daughter grew out of? Who cares if Roji purposely pushed Robin to the side to keep out of the way of birthday's, christmas's and Father's and Mother's day's? Not like she's got either for herself!

And where did Oran, her own husband, get off defending the little freak! Every time she made a move to put that girl in her place, that fool-hearty man of her's would come running and try to stop her. Try, being the chief word. Roji always managed to have her way. This was her house and she wore the pants!

At least her daughter, Mizuria, had the good sense,that being having none, to stay away from Robin and focus on being the well behaved girl she expected her to be.

When it started to rain three days ago, Roji didn't even want to bother with going out to look for Robin, forcing Oran and Mizuria to stay with her, no matter how much her husband protested. When that little freak got back, she was going to get the punishment of a lifetime!

Since Olivia wasn't coming back anytime soon, Robin was free to use as Roji saw fit. That's what family is for after all; use each other until they've outlived their usefulness!

And it seemed Robin was starting to reach the end of hers…

A knock at the front door brought the bitter old woman out of her stewing and began to make her way to the front door, putting on a fake, kind smile. Even though she treated robin like garbage, she liked to maintain a friendly, cheerful demeanor to the rest of the island's inhabitance. Keeping up appearances is what's most important in life, after all.

The old woman opened the door, a sunny facade replacing her inner frustration.

"Why, hello there~! How can I hel-!" Roji's cheerful demeanor was shattered at the sight of Nico Olivia and Her daughter hiding behind her leg, standing at her front door.

"O…O…Oliv…" Roji's hot red fury turned to an ice cold fear as she stared back at the hard, piercing gaze of the white haired scholar.

After Robin had told Olivia about all the abuse she suffered, by the hands of someone she believed she could trust to care for her daughter in her absence… Upset would be the understatement of the century compared to what Olivia was feeling.

Roji just stood there stunned, unable to process that Nico Olivia was back. The white haired woman turned back to her daughter and patted her on the head.

"Wait out here with Mr. Garp, would you, sweetheart?" Olivia politely asked the little dark haired girl. "I'll be right out in no time, I promise!"

Robin was worried at first, but then nodded in affirmation.

Roji looked behind the two quick to see in broad daylight Monkey D. Garp, the hero of the navy, standing far from the house, with his arms crossed and a stern look in his eye. She also managed to spot a little straw hat wearing boy, pulling his cheeks apart and sticking his tongue out at her.

Robin then remembered something. She looked back at Luffy, who looked back at her and smiled. That was all the support she needed.

"Auntie Roji…?" Robin turned back to the large woman who stared at her with the worst hidden scowl she could hide.

The little dark haired girl took a deep breath and then shouted at the top of her voice.

 **"YOU'RE A BIG ULGY TROLL AND I HATE LIVING HERE!"**

That outburst was enough to blow away Olivia, Garp and Roji altogether. Luffy on the other hand was laughing his head off, not even trying to be subtle.

"Why you little…!" Roji made an attempt to move near to the girl who bravely insulted her, only to be blocked by the girl's mother.

"That's enough, Robin!" She said in a lecturing manner, only to look back at her daughter proudly. "I can take it from here."

She gave her little girl a smile, one which Robin returned, then turned back to the old woman at the door and began to walk slowly toward her, making Roji begin to back up in nervousness.

"Aunt Roji," Olivia bit the words out hatefully. "May I come in? We have so much to **_catch up_** on…"

The front door closed with an ominous click.

* * *

For the next half hour, the sound of muffled shouting and arguing came from Roji's quaint little home. Robin, Luffy and Garp stood far from the house, not wanting to be caught up in what was going on in there.

Soon enough, a single hoarse voice sounded out louder than the other that was shouting back. Silence. Then, with an audible snap and the hoarse voice howling in what must have been pain, Nico Olivia came bursting out of the house, marched over to Robin and scooped her up in her arms.

"Momma?" robin questioned.

"Don't worry, Robin!" Olivia said sternly. "You'll never have to see that horrible woman ever again!"

Garp and Luffy were having trouble keeping up with the white haired scholar, her brisk walk easily outrunning them.

"Olivia! What happened in there?!" Garp yelled out, starting to get out of breath quick.

"Let's just say that I **_broke_** myself off from the family!" Olivia declared, leaving the discussion at that.

* * *

Once Spadine and the government agents had the ponoglyph packed up and made there way back to Navy H.Q, it was soon time for Garp and the marines to make their leave as well, along with their 'prisoner'.

"It was so good to see you again, Olivia! Even though it was under such insane circumstances…" Clover hugged Olivia tightly, as if saying goodbye to his own child.

"I'm glad I was able to see you too, Clover! All of you!" Olivia looked to all the faces of her former colleagues, all of them close to tears of perhaps never seeing Olivia again.

"I'm so happy you and Robin have each other…" Clover managed to speak out as a lump appeared in his throat.

"No one is more happy than me for that!" Olivia announced proudly, as she looked over to her daughter saying goodbye to her cousin, Mizuria.

After Olivia had given Roji a piece of her mind, along with a large hospital bill to pay, her brother and Roji's husband, Oran, decided that his wife's violent behavior had run its course and decided to leave her, taking Mizuria with him. Roji pretended to be happy to be rid of them both, but Oran could see the pain in her eyes. Her stubborn streak had finally made her alone, and she had no one to blame but herself.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us to the East Blue? I'm sure there's plenty of room on the boat for the two of you." Olivia turned to her brother, the only one to treat Robin with any sort of kindness apart from the scholars.

"No, but thanks, Olivia! I'm planning on sailing to the South Blue, Mizuria was always fond of the snow. Besides, seeing the two of us might just remind Robin of her life here anyway…" Oran regretfully pointed out. He felt his sister put her hand on his shoulder.

"The fact that you tried to stop her means a lot, Oran…" Olivia happily told him, letting him no there was no hard feelings between the two of them.

The two siblings shared an embrace, and began to walk over to the children.

"I'm sorry for not paying much attention to you, Robin…" Mizuria sadly apologized.

"That's okay, Mizuria! You probably couldn't have done much anyway…" Robin tried to play off.

"But still…I'm sorry…" Mizuria made clear, wanting robin to know that she regretted having ben so passive when they lived together.

Robin looked at her cousin with surprise, but then smiled and held out her hand to Mizuria. "Thanks, Mizuria."

Mizuria looked at the hand, then decided to give Robin a hug, wanting to be formal with her sibling, even if it was the first and last time.

Mizuria and Robin came out of their hug and the two looked over at Luffy, who was smiling at the two girls.

"Take good care of my cousin, will you?" Mizuria asked.

"You got it!" Luffy gave a thumbs up and gave his toothy grin.

The two girls laughed at the boy, when Oran and Olivia came up to them.

"I think its time for us to get on the ship…" Olivia sadly stated.

Robin and Mizuria shared one more hug before Olivia took her daughter's hand and guided her up the bridge to the ship, with Oran taking her now weeping daughter's hand as well.

As all this was going on, Saul was beginning to pack up and ready his raft. The scholars even made him a small pirate flag to go with it. A large giant sized white skull with a bushy orange beard, a brown cowboy hat and two crossbones sticking out from behind. Saul was against it at first, but then figured if he was going to live as an outlaw, he might as well go all out.

Luffy walked up the bridge of the ship behind Olivia and Robin. Once the three were onboard, the anchor was weighted and the vessel was off, while Saul pushed his feet off the coast of the island and made his own way out to sea at the same time. Robin, Luffy and Olivia looked over the side of the ship to see everyone off.

All the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge waved their hands and said their teary goodbyes to the reunited mother and daughter, along with the boy who came and helped save their home. Half the island's civilians were their saying goodbye as well, the one half being the one grateful and sorry to Robin, while the rest stayed stubborn and didn't even show their faces.

Surprisingly, another group of faces that wanted to show their thanks were the same kids that were picking on Robin the few days before. They ran along the coastline, waving and shouting to the little dark haired girl.

"HEY, HANDY GIRL!" 'Bad-afro' called.

"THANKS FOR SAVING OUR ISLAND!" 'Egg-head' yelled.

"WERE SORRY FOR PICKING ON YOU!" 'Pig-nosed' shouted.

"GOOD LUCK BECOMING PIRATE KING, STRAW HAT KID!" 'Carrot-head' cheered.

Luffy and Robin were surprised that those kids were now being friendly, but they weren't ones to be so bitter.

"THANK YOU!" Robin returned the wave.

"SEE YA!" Luffy called back.

 **"ROBIN!"** The call came from the other side of the ship. Luffy and Robin ran to the port side of the ship, catching the sight of Jaguar D. Saul waving his massive arms their way.

 **"BE SAFE, ROBIN! BE HAPPY! REMEMBER! ALWAYS LAUGH WHEN YOUR'E HAPPY, OR SAD!"**

Saul then broke out into his trademark laugh, echoing out across the waves. Robin and Luffy thought it best to mimic his laugh for him, one more time before he disappeared.

"Dereshishishishishi! GOODBYE, SAUL!" Robin waved with tears in her eyes.

"Dereshishishishishi! SEE YA, GIANT BEARDED GIANT!" Luffy waved both his arms over his head.

As the marine vessel sailed off, Saul and the island of Ohara began to fade out of sight, all the while Luffy and Robin watched it go, smiles on each of their faces.

After some time had past, Luffy and Robin were still looking over the railing out to sea.

"I wonder…" Robin brought up. "How my life would have turned out, if I never met you?"

Luffy looked back at Robin, a puzzling look on his face, pondering her question.

"Probably a whole lot sadder…Ohara might have been blown up!" Luffy extended his arms to impersonate a large explosion.

"And I might have lost what friends I had…The scholars…Clover…Saul…" Robin began to look glum at the idea. Some part of her said that she had been able to avoid unimaginable heartache and suffering and it was all because of the straw hatted boy standing next to her. She looked over to him and her chest began to feel warmer than usual.

"Well, if we didn't meet here, then we probably would have met sooner or later!" Luffy stated.

Robin wondered about this for a while, before smiling and looking back out at sea. "Yeah..I think you might be right…"

The sound of walking came up behind them, making the two turn their heads to see Garp standing there looking proud of his grandson.

"Luffy, I am so proud of you!" Garp proclaimed, beaming at his young sibling.

"Really?" Luffy smiled at his grandpa.

"Absolutely! You will defiantly make an excellent **_marine_** one day!" The old man bellowed heartily.

Luffy's smile dropped to a low frown. "Grandpa, I'm going to keep telling you, as many times as I have to, **_I'm gonna be a pirate!"_**

Garp did a double take at this, then exploded, taking Robin by surprise. "I THOUGHT THAT BY EVERYTHING YOU'VE BEEN THOUGH ON OHARA, YOU'D WANT TO BE A MARINE MORE THAN ANYTHING!"

"WELL, I DON'T!" Luffy yelled back. "BESIDES, IF GUYS LIKE THAT UGLY GREEN COATED JERK ARE GONNA BE IN THE NAVY, THEN I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT BE A MARINE EVEN MORE!"

"T-THERE'S JUST AS BAD OF PIRATES OUT THERE THAT ARE LIKE HIM!" Garp attempted to reason.

"YEAH?! WELL, I HAVEN'T MET THEM YET, SO THERE!" Luffy stuck out his tongue and in doing so, struck Garp's last nerve.

The vice admiral then looked at Luffy with fire in his eyes, stomping up to the now cringing boy. "Darnit, Luffy! how many times do I have to beat it that idea out of you until you-"

"STOP!" Nico Robin then decided to stand between Garp and Luffy, with her hands extended outward, shielding the boy behind him. "YOUR'E NOT GOING TO HURT LUFFY!"

Garp stopped in his tracks, along with all the marines watching onboard. No one has ever had the courage to stop Garp on a rampage, and yet this little girl goes and does it. Garp is rendered speechless for a moment before coming back to his senses.

"I have to teach my empty headed grandson not to have these ridiculous ideas in his head!" He shouted for all to here.

"By hitting him over the head?! That's going to do nothing but make him **_resent_** you!" Robin yelled out.

Garp was officially speechless. Robin came from an abusive home, so she knew what she was talking about. Garp took a look at his grandson, his small, quivering grandson, and then began to think.

Suddenly, Nico Olivia decided to make her appearance and turn the whole scenario around.

"All right, I think that's enough." She chided in. "Garp, these children have been through a lot, and we have a long trip ahead of us. Perhaps this can all wait for another time?"

A silence past between the gathered children and adults, the vice admiral staring down the dark haired little girl. Robin only stared back just as sternly as she continued to stand guard of Luffy, who was blown away at what she was doing, for him no less!

"Fine…" The vice admiral's shoulders sagged as he gave up on the ongoing argument and trudged away in defeat.

All the marines were beyond shocked at what they just witnessed. Garp had lost; **_to an eight year old girl!_** The rest of the troops back home were not gonna believe this!

One murderous glare from the hero of the navy shut that idea down in every one of the men's minds, all of them not wanting to test the vice admiral's patience and wanting to see the next day.

Back with the mother and children, Luffy was frozen in place at what robin had done. The girl looked back at the boy and reached her hand out.

"Are you okay, Luffy?" She inquired kindly.

"Robin…" Luffy took Robin's hand and was pulled to his feet, all the while looking at Robin with great awe. Robin began to wonder if she did something wrong, like hurt his pride for standing up for him.

 ** _"You're amazing!"_** Luffy exclaimed as he yelled his statement out loud. Robin was surprised by this and blushed crimson.

"Not even Ace and Sabo have the guts to stand up to grandpa like that!" Luffy beamed brightly at the girl, who grew redder and redder.

"That settles it!" Luffy put his fists on his hips, as if he was about to make a statement.

"What?" Robin asked as she got over her embarrassment.

Luffy pointed his finger at the girl, wearing his large toothy grin. "Robin, when I become a pirate, you're joining my crew!"

Robin's blush was back with a vengeance, Olivia's eyes widened at the notion and Garp, who had also overheard his grandson, was just as bewildered as the mother.

Robin then began to imagine the two of them sailing on the high seas as pirates.

A jolly roger flying in the breeze, ocean waves crashing against their vessel, as Luffy stands on the head of their ship pointing out to the horizon, with his arm wrapped around Robin as she clung to the boy in awe and excitement for whatever adventure lay ahead for them.

As she imagined this, the smile on her face grew bigger and bigger.

Before she could give Luffy any sort of answer back, Olivia decided to step in, take her daughter by her hand and lead her away from the straw hatted boy.

"Alright! I think that's enough for one day!" Olivia stated quickly.

"Momma!" Robin complained as she was taken away from Luffy.

"Robin, I know you like that boy, but I think it's a little early to become a pirate for him!" The white haired scholar proclaimed, taking her daughter by surprise.

"W-what are you talking about?" The dark haired girl tried to fake ignorance.

"Oh, Come now, sweetheart!" Olivia led the girl behind a wall of the ship's galley, facing her with a kind and knowing smile. "I know that you like Luffy!"

Robin blanched at this. "O-of course I like him! H-he's my friend!"

"Robin," The mother then put a hand to her daughter's cheek. "I know you like him more than that."

Robin's blush came back a third time as she looked down to hide her red face. "You knew?"

"Me, Clover, Saul and I'm sure a few of the scholars back home had an idea of how you feel." Olivia smiled at her daughter's surprise as Robin grew redder in the face with every word.

The ex-archeologist was just so smitten with how cute her daughter was right now.

"You know what…" Olivia had a thought as she scooped her daughter up in her arms and led her to the galley for dinner. "This gives me a good opportunity to start being a proper mother to you, starting with a very important subject I want to talk to you about."

"What's that?" Robin tilted her head in curiosity.

"Boys…" Olivia stated.

As the mother and daughter began to talk, Garp went back to Luffy to have a chat about something important they needed to dicuss.

"Luffy…" The straw hatted boy turned an d looked up at the large vice admiral, immediately putting his arms up in fear of being stuck without Robin to save him.

"Relax, boy, I'm not gonna hit you." Luffy came out of his defensive position to look back at Garp, who was giving him a serious expression.

The vice admiral then got down on one knee, made himself at eye level to his grandson and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Don't try to make Robin a pirate."

"HUH?!" Luffy was immediately up in arms about this. "WHY NOT?!"

"Robin finally has her mother back after so many years of being mistreatment and loneliness," Garp pointed out to the boy. "Don't you think she'd want to be with her and find something else to do with her life?"

Luffy thought about this, about Robin and her mom, then finally came to a decision.

"Yeah, I guess you're right!" Garp was shocked by this.

"Just like that?!" He bellowed. His stubborn grandson would never let go of something that he wanted, no matter how much you tried to reason with him, or in the man's case, knock the sense into him.

"Yeah! I mean…" Luffy looked away from his grandpa to hide a small blush on his face. "I don't want to force Robin to do something she doesn't want to…"

Garp's mind was completely blown. Did Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy, his own knuckle headed grandson… ** _Have a crush?!_**

The sound of a grumbling stomach caught both their attention, Luffy looking down to his belly.

"I'm starting to get hungry~!" Luffy whined until he took off into a sprint for the galley. Garp stood in place, still spaced out by what he just heard from his grandson. Then, reality hit him as he remembered how Luffy ate breakfast on the morning they arrived at Ohara. He immediately took of after the straw hatted boy, yelling in total panic.

"W-wait, Luffy! Save some for the men this time!"

* * *

That night, robin was treated to an experience she'd only imagined before now; being tucked into bed and sung to by her mother. Luffy was already fast asleep in the bed next to hers, and soon enough she would be joining him in slumber.

Olivia hummed a tune softly as she sat on the bed that Robin lay in, as the little girl began to drift off gently to the cheerful lullaby, when Olivia started into the final lyrics of the song.

 _Gather up all of the crew,_

 _It's time to ship out Bink's brew,_

 _Wave good-bye,_

 _But don't you cry,_

 _Our memories remain._

 _Our days are but a passing dream,_

 _Everlasting though they seem,_

 _Beneath the moon,_

 _We'll meet again,_

 _The wind's our lullaby._

 _Gather up all of the crew,_

 _It's time to ship out Bink's brew,_

 _Sing a song,_

 _And play along,_

 _For all the ocean's wide._

 _After all is said and done,_

 _You'll end up a skeleton,_

 _So spread your tale,_

 _From dawn till dusk,_

 _Upon these foamy seas._

When Olivia hummed the last of the shanty, Robin's blue eyes finally closed for the night. Olivia gently leaned in to place a kiss on her daughter's forehead, then silently made her way out the cabin and closed the door behind her, leaving both Robin and Luffy to rest.

The white haired scholar made her way over to the side of the marine vessel and landed over the railing, looking out to the dark waters of the ocean.

"You seem to be falling into the role of a parent quite easily…" Garp inquired as he made his presence known.

"I don't really feel at all deserving to be called such." The archeologist sighed. "Robin may have forgiven me, but I don't think I ever will, or ever should…"

The white haired scholars eyes shown with remorse. "All I can do now is make up for lost time, and the pain she went through…"

Garp sadly smiled. "Well, I'd hurry up on those plans…" The ex-archeologist looked back to the vice admiral.

"You never now when my grandson will wise up and sweep that girl off her feet!" Garp laughed heartily as Olivia put a hand to her forehead.

"Don't even start…" She couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"That girl of yours has got it bad for my boy, eh?" Garp chided as he leaned over the side of the ship.

"Of all the times to come back to her, it had to be when she was beginning to notice boys!" Olivia then came out with a laugh of her own.

The two adults let their laughter loose for a moment, then it died down as they returned to looking out to the sea, the clouds of the night sky taking the place of the bright blue.

"It's amazing…so much disaster avoided under such strange circumstances…All because of two children becoming friends!" Olivia was having great trouble fathoming the idea.

"Indeed…Those two might have not only saved an entire island, but changed the very course of history!" Garp factored.

"Imagine what more those two could change if they stick together…" Olivia mused.

"It's enough to scare you a little…" Garp dared to wonder.

"But I can tell you this!" Garp then riled up in determination, shocking Olivia a little. "Luffy will be a marine when he makes those changes!"

Olivia gave a small laugh at the man's will to not give up on his grandson, then she began to wonder about Robin…

Would she still want to be an archeologist, even after they reunited?

…Would she want to find the ponoglyphs like she did?

These thoughts and worries remained on the white haired scholar's mind the whole trip, all the way to when the ship arrived at Dawn Island and made dock at Foosha Village; Luffy's hometown.


	5. Windmills Turning in the East

**_Windmills Turning in the East_**

It had taken just three days to sail back to the East Blue and two days to finally reach Dawn Island and make dock at Foosha Village.

Robin and Luffy leaned over the starboard side of the ship's railing, wanting get a good look of the straw hatted boy's hometown and the dark haired girl's new home.

Lush green hills made most of the scenery, with a dirt path and wood-picket fence winding up and down the hills. The scenery of the town was littered with small houses and windmills, their sails spinning at a gentle pace from the ocean breeze, giving off a feeling of tranquility and peacefulness.

Robin looked over to Luffy, wanting to see how exited he must be about seeing home again, only to notice a brooding scowl on his face. Looking down to what he was staring at, all she saw was the deep blue water splashing against the hull of the ship.

Then it came to her. This port they were sailing into was where that sea monster that nearly ate Luffy and took Shanks's arm was supposed to dwell. Robin looked at Luffy again with great concern.

Once the marine vessel finally docked at the island, Luffy brightened up a bit, happy to be home and looking forward to seeing everybody again.

As the two children ran down the ship bridge, Garp and Olivia followed behind, the vice admiral informing the white haired scholar of their new living arrangements.

"You'll have a house close to the bay here, situated at the far west side of the town. We can find you some hand-me-down furniture that no one is using to get you started. You'll need to find a paying job if you want to make a proper living, so we can have a chat with the mayor about that. He might be a little offended with you being a criminal, but he'll warm up to you soon enough."

"Thank you, Garp. you are doing so much for me and Robin. I don't know how I'll be able to repay you!" Olivia was overjoyed at how much of a second chance Garp had managed to persuade out of the Five Elder Stars.

"You already know how, Olivia…" Garp inquired, causing the woman to come out of her joyous mood.

"Even though you want to leave behind your life as an archeologist to be a real mother, the government has also forbidden you from ever examining another culture for the rest of your life. You can't go back to your previous life, even if you wanted to." Garp explained what she already knew, but it was still a tough pill to swallow.

Olivia watched as Robin and Luffy hopped up the steps of the dock and looked out into town. "That's fine… What matters now is that I look after my Robin and be there for her, to make up for when I wasn't."

As the two adults looked at the young ones, Luffy decided to run off into town with Robin following behind.

"Robin! Don't go running off!" Olivia panicked.

"Don't worry, they won't go too far." Garp laughed as he put Olivia's mind at ease, but not enough.

Back with the two children, Luffy and Robin ran down a street with shops along the sides and people watching them go.

"I can't wait to see everybody again!" Luffy shouted excitedly, as Robin once again did her best to catch up with the boy.

"So…when…do I meet…your bothers?" Robin gasped as she ran after him, growing aware of how little exercise she got when she spent her days reading back on Ohara.

Out of everyone Luffy spoke of on the ship, his two big brothers were who she was truly curious about.

"We'll see them soon!" Buffy called back, not wanting to slow down. "Right now, I'm hungry, and there's only one place I wanna eat!"

"But…we just…had breakfast…on the ship!" robin tried to reason, but knowing that it was Luffy she was speaking to, she knew there was no reasoning with him or his stomach.

Arriving into town, everybody the two passed by instantly recognized the boy and greeted him.

"Welcome back, Luffy!"

"Hey, Luffy! Good to see you!"

"Hope Garp wasn't too hard on you out there!"

"Things have been so boring without you, Luffy!"

"Glad to have you back, Luffy!"

Robin was surprised by this. Don't they know he ate a Devil Fruit? Wasn't he an outcast like her? Why would these people be so nice to him?

Would they be as nice to her?

"Luffy!" One voice that came from an elderly man sitting outside a house, wearing a yellow shirt and a red and white stripped hat got the boys attention, making him and robin stop in their tracks.

"Hi, Mr. Mayor!" Luffy waved.

"Has Garp finally managed to get that ridiculous 'pirate' idea out of your head?" The old timer asked. Everyone in town didn't seem to have a problem with Luffy wanting to become a pirate, but the Mayor did. Having someone from their town becoming a criminal would do nothing but give Foosha Village a bad reputation.

"Nope!" Buffy answered back. "I'm still gonna be a pirate, and I'm still gonna be the Pirate King!"

"You do that, and you'll never be aloud in this town again!" The mayor tried to warn but wasn't all that filled with resolve.

Luffy just chuckled at the old man and took off running again. Robin was caught off guard by the boy's negligence and decided to bow before the old timer. "I-It was nice to meet you, Mr. Mayor, sir!"

When Robin took off to catch up to Luffy, the mayor was caught in a state of wonder.

"Who was that girl with him?" He asked to no one.

As the two children kept running, a lone building appeared in the distance. The words 'PARTY'S BAR' were portrayed above the building's entrance, which Luffy was heading straight for.

"MAKINO!" Luffy pushed through the wooden swinging doors, leading to the inside. "I'M HOME!"

Robin made her way inside, taking in the look of the place. It was a quaint little restaurant and bar, with tables and chairs taking up most of the room of the place. At the front of the establishment, liquor bottles and a few potted plants decorated a shelf case behind a large wooden bar.

Just then, a young woman with short dark green hair, wearing a pink head scarf with red polkadots, an orange top with black long sleeves and a yellow stripe going across her chest, a blue dress skirt with large stitches going down both sides and red sneakers, came out of a curtain door to left hand side of the large layout.

"Luffy?" She asked aloud. Spotting the straw hatted boy with his large toothy grin, she immediately bee-lined over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "LUFFY! I'm so glad you're alright! What did that big bully of a grandfather of yours do to you out at sea?!"

Seeing this woman show great concern for her new friend, Robin instantly liked her. She gave off the aura of a kind, loving older sister. Makino stopped hugging Luffy and drew her attention to the little dark haired girl who instantly blushed at being noticed.

"And who do we have here?" The bar keeper brightly asked.

"This is Robin! She's a friend I made while I was gone!" Buffy beamed.

Makino took a minute to look over the small girl. Robin shuffled her feet and looked away from the taller woman, blushing as she did. Makino then placed her hands on Robin's shoulders and looked at her with a shining smile.

"Well, aren't you the most adorable little girl I've ever seen!" Makino stated happily, causing Robin to blush deeper and bow her head lower to hide her reddening face.

"So, is she your **_girlfriend_** , Luffy?" Makino cheekily questioned.

"No, she's not!" Luffy blanched out, with his cheeks being a little red as he did. Robin blushed even more at this and came close to sinking to her knees to hide her face. Makino caught on to this and made amends to make up for it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie! I didn't mean to embarrass you!" Makino gently took the girl's hand and led her over to the bar.

"I'll make you something to eat to make up for it! On the house!" Makino let Robin sit up on one of the barstools, while she went around the bar to prepare some food for the little girl.

"Make me something to eat too, Makino!" Luffy chided in as he struggled to get up no one of the stools, making the bar tender giggle at the boy.

As Makino went to work in her little workplace, Robin was thinking on something deeply.

"Why are you being so nice to me," Makino turned back to the dark haired girl, wondering what she was talking about. "When I'm just like him?" Robin looked over to Luffy, who was just as confused as to what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Makino asked concerned. Robin decided to show a demonstration. She flicked her hand up and multiple arms came sprouting out of the bar, before disappearing again. Makino was surprised by this and Robin waited for the inevitable reaction; being called a monster and getting thrown out of the restaurant.

"Oh, my…!" Makino gasped after getting over the shock. She then turned back to Robin with her bright smile still in place. "So, you must have eaten a Devil Fruit just like Luffy then?" The bar tender chimed sweetly.

"Y-you know about…?" Robin didn't know what to be taken back by most; Makino ** _not_** treating her like a freak and throwing her out, or Makino knowing about Luffy's curse and actually being **_alright_** with it.

"Of course! I was there when he ate that fruit!" Makino laughed as she went back to making her customers meals. "Luffy always has a bad habit of thinking with his stomach!"

"I didn't know it was cursed!" Luffy defended.

"You still should have asked Shanks first before taking a bite!" Makino lectured, kindly but firmly.

Robin was completely lost. Here was a woman that saw Luffy eat a Devil Fruit and still treated him like a little brother, or even her own ** _son._** Robin remembered all the times she showed her powers to people on Ohara. All their reactions weren't as positive as Makino's…

"Here you go!" Makino placed two plates of food on the bar in front of the two children. Luffy immediately dug into his dish, while Robin came out of her gloomy thoughts and began to eat as well.

"So, Robin, was it?" Makino asked.

"Mm-hmm…" Robin nodded her head as she ate.

"Where do you live?" The bar tender began to wipe up some dirty glasses as she got to know the young girl.

"I used to live on the island of Ohara, in the West Blue." Robin stated as she kept eating, while Luffy looked closed to being done already.

"The West Blue?!" Makino was shocked to hear this. "Garp took you out that far, Luffy?!"

Luffy nodded his head quickly before burying his face in food once more.

"So, what's Ohara like?" Makino continued to ask.

Robin remembered her time on Ohara, all the memories being horrible ones. She did her best to focus on the good things she grew up with and the people that cared about her.

"It's an island with a huge tree in the middle of it; the Tree of Knowledge." Robin explained. "It's the worlds greatest library! I went in there all the time to read and pick up books!" robin grew more and more at ease as she recollected her favorite place on the island.

"So, you like to read books, do you?" Makino saw that the dark haired girl was beginning to lighten up, and chose to keep the subject on books.

"I really do!" Robin nearly yelled she got so exited about them. Makino smiled at the girl's enthusiasm, glad to see Robin in a lighter mood.

The sound of two doors opening and closing behind them drew their attention to the entrance of the place. Gap and Olivia stood at the swinging doors, looking back at the children and bar keeper.

"Robin!" Olivia walked up to her daughter, worry across her face. "Don't go running off like that again! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find you!"

"Sorry Momma…" Robin titled her head down, being introduced to the feeling of being told off by her mother. The feeling of having a hand placed on her head brought her eyes back up to see Olivia smiling warmly at her, rubbing her head gently.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Just let me know next time." Olivia advised her daughter lovingly.

Robin looked back up and smiled at her mother, nodding her head after Olivia took her hand back.

"You must be Robin's mother." Makino chimed in, reaching her hand out to the white haired scholar. "I'm Makino, I guess you could say I'm Luffy's guardian."

"Olivia, pleased to meet you." She returned as she took the bar keeper's hand and shook it.

"Here on a date with your **_girlfriend_** , Are you Luffy?" Garp laughed heartily.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Luffy roared again, both him and Robin having a small blush.

"Mr. Garp!" All eyes turned to a now angry looking Makino, who came marching from behind the bar to look the older man in the eye. "Where do you get off? Taking a small boy out to sea, on a marine ship, all so you can beat, literally **beat** , the idea of being a pirate out of him with no one to stop you?! You, sir, are a coward!"

All the while Makino was blowing her top at the vice admiral, the man was backing up step by step, shielding the verbal onslaught with his raised hands, before tripping on a pulled out chair and falling over backwards.

"I-I only do it to get that stupid idea of being a pirate out of his head!" Garp tried to defend, only to have the bar tender scowl down at him.

"There's no such thing as a good reason to hit family!" Makino stated strongly, as the other three occupants watched on in a mix of awkwardness and enjoyment.

Garp tried to find any other excuse to fend off the woman, but knew that there was on use in trying to win a fight with Makino, no matter how hard he's tried in the past.

Makino looked down at the pathetic looking hero of the navy, her smoldering glare keeping him frozen on the floor.

"You'll be paying for the kids meals in exchange for any pain you caused Luffy on your trip, right Mr. Garp?" Makino chimed in quickly.

"Y-yes…" Garp reluctantly agreed, uncomfortable about getting caught out by the crafty bar keeper.

Seeing he had learned his lesson, at least for now, Makino lent the vice admiral her hand, which he eagerly took to help himself off the floor with her help.

"How about I get you two some drinks?" Makino turned to go behind the bar as the two other adults accepted the offer and took a seat at either side of the children, Olivia by Robin and Garp by Luffy.

"You'll also be paying for these as well, right Garp? A real gentlemen pays for a ladies drink, after all!" Makino chimed in quickly.

"O-of course…" Garp wouldn't say it, but her hated it when this woman would manipulate her out of payback for Luffy.

"So Robin? Being so into books, I'm sure you want to be something like a librarian in the future?" Makino spoke as she handed out two glasses of liquor for her two new customers.

"Actually," Robin began to correct. "My mom was an archeologist, and when I grow up, I want to just like her and study the Void Century!"

The sound of a glass being clutched tightly brought the attention of everyone present to look at the white haired scholar, who seemed to be trapped in her own thoughts.

"Momma…?" Robin grew worried at her mother's change in mood. Soon, the ex-archeologist came out of herm ind and looked around her, seeing the concerned faces of everyone present. She attempted to change the tone with a forced smile.

"Uh, Luffy?" Garp decided to make the children make their exit, sensing a serious discussion was about to take place. "Why don't you and Robin head up to Mt. Colubo and introduce her to Dadan and her friends?"

"Oh, yeah! I was going to introduce her to Ace and Sabo too!" Luffy hopped off his seat and ran out the building. "Come on, Robin!"

"O-Okay!" Robin hopped off her seat, taking another look at herm other, who still held her forced smile. Robin stared at her for a while, before quietly heading out the swinging doors next.

Olivia then dropped the smile, letting her held back emotions cross her face. Makino was looking at the two of them with great anxiety.

"Makino…" Garp piped up, catching the bar tender's attention, making her notice the grave expression on his face.

"A lot more happened on Ohara than the children have told you…"

* * *

Way high on the top of Mt. Colubo, robin could see the whole of Foosha village from where she stood. The houses and windmills looking like small toy models, and beyond them lied the wide open sea, crystal clear blue and stretching out over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight indeed.

"Hey, Robin! Hurry up!" The call from the straw hatted boy brought her back to the moment as Robin began to catch up to Luffy.

"You…actually…live…out here?" Robin wheezed as she tried to keep up with the boy.

"Yeah! Grandpa made me live here with some mountain bandits and said he'd beat me within an inch of my life if I tried to run away!" Luffy informed, which Robin became quickly aghast to. Forced to live with bandits under the threat of a beating?!

The more Robin heard of the mistreatment of Luffy, the more sick of it she became.

Upon spotting something over the hill they were climbing, Luffy made a mad dash in its direction. Robin seeing this, picks up her pace so as to not lose the boy.

When she finally got to the top of the hill, what she saw was quite an unimpressive sight. A run down old shack that looked close to toppling over at any minute, sat in the middle of a clearing of the surrounding jungle that grew around the mountain.

Luffy was currently running around the place, as if he was searching for something.

"DADAN! GUYS! I'M BACK!" The straw hatted boy bellowed loud enough to make na echo.

"He's gonna find us…" A scared voice whispered from somewhere.

"If you keep flapping your gums, he will!" Another hushed voice spoke, this time coming from inside the shack.

Luffy and Robin caught on to this and made their way over to the barely standing house.

"Hello?" Luffy went inside while Robin stayed out in the clearing, slightly afraid that the house might cave in.

The inside of the shack was dark and barely lit. Luffy looked around the place, wondering where everybody was.

"Achoo!"

"Bless you!" Luffy happily chirped as he turned to leave, only to stop in his tracks. "Wait a minute…!"

Looking up, Luffy spotted Dadan, an over-weight, middle-aged woman with thick orange hair and a cigarette clenched in her teeth. She was currently propping herself up on the support beams that ran across the ceiling, along with a large number of dirty looking men also propping themselves up against the beams as well.

"HEY GUYS!" Luffy happily called, causing all the occupancy of the ailing to fall into a painful heap.

"He found us, boss…" A bandit groaned as he was crushed under the weight of bodies.

"He found us because one of you sneezed!" the woman growled as she sat up, making the men under her cry out in pain from her size, not that they'd dare to say it out loud though.

"HEY DADAN! I STILL HATE MOUNTAIN BANDITS!" Luffy greeted and reminded.

"I DIDN'T ASK!" The thug of a woman barked as she stomped over to Luffy. She then noticed the small dark haired girl standing outside, looking quite fearful.

Dadan grabbed Luffy by the back of his shirt collar and hoisted him in the air, Robin reaching out in vain to stop her.

"Luffy, who is that?!" The woman yelled, not in the mood for any stupidity of the like.

"That's Robin!" The boy pointed as he turned back to Dadan. "She's a new friend of mine!"

Dadan looked back at the small girl and scowled. "Is she another one of Garp's grandkids or something?!"

"Nah! She lives with her mom!" Luffy smiled.

"Good!" The woman finally dropped Luffy, as robin darted over to the straw hatted boy to see if he was all right. "The last thing I want is another brat to waste time over!"

Robin took great offense to this. Seeing the large lips taking up most of her face, the age wrinkles and the cigarette clenched in her teeth, this woman reminded her a lot of her rotten old Aunt Roji. Robin did not like this woman at all.

As Luffy picked himself up off the ground as if nothing had happened to him, he smiled as he looked at the bandit woman again. "Hey, Dadan! Have you seen Ace and Sabo anywhere?"

"Those two troublemakers ran into the jungle to catch dinner for all of us tonight! With any luck, they got lost and won't find there way back!" The thug of a woman grumbled, with just a slither of concern in her voice. Robin didn't catch on to this and her dislike for the older woman grew.

"Thanks, Dadan! C'mon, Robin!" Luffy instantly ran straight for a thick brush of the surrounding jungle, forcing Robin to run after him. Before the girl disappeared too, she looked back at Dadan, who only scowled at her back. The two stared each other down, before the dark haired girl ran into the jungle next.

"I don't think she likes you, boss…" a bandit behind her voiced.

"LIKE I CARE!" The bandit woman bellowed as she walked back inside, feeling just a little hurt at the notion, but didn't dare show it.

* * *

"Luffy, do you actually live with that woman?!" Robin asked as the two made their way through the jungle, climbing over thick vines and pushing branches out of their path.

"I used to but not anymore! Besides, she's not all that bad! If anything, she's more afraid of me or one of my bothers hurting her then the other way around!" The straw hatted boy laughed, making Robin worry if all the times he was hit on the head had done some damage to Luffy's mental state.

The dark haired girl then shook her head as another thought entered her head "So wait, if you don't live with her and those bandits anymore, and you're not allowed to go back to the village, then where do you live?!"

Luffy pushed one final branch out of the way, letting robin go first. "Here!"

Robin made her way past Luffy and looked up at a ginormous tree, not as big as the Tree of Knowledge but big all the same. Illuminated by the sunshine breaking through the leaves above, there sat a make shift treehouse, made from the remains of old shipwrecks.

"You…live here?" She asked bewildered.

"Yup! Me, Ace and Sabo decided that we've got to learn how to be 'self-relpy-ant' if were gonna go out to sea one day!" Luffy grinned proudly.

"Self- _reliant_ , Luffy…" Robin corrected the boy.

"That too!" Luffy laughed, making Robin worry more for the boy's state of mind.

"Hey, Luffy!" A voice from high in the treetops called out, catching the attention of the two children below. "You finally back from that trip with Garp, huh?"

"Ace?" Luffy's smile grew.

"I hope Garp didn't pound the idea of being a pirate out of your head while you were with him!" Another voice came through the trees.

"Sabo?" Luffy grinned, happy to hear his brothers again.

Suddenly, two figures leaped down from they're hiding places and landed in front of the two young ones.

One, a ten year old boy with jet black hair, freckles on his cheeks, wearing a light red tank top, black shorts and brown shoes, with a grin that just spelled 'trouble'.

The other, another ten year old boy with shaved blond hair, wearing a silk hat, a blue petty coat and black boots, having a smile on his face that showed off a missing tooth.

Both of them were carrying a lead pipe each, which Robin could only guess that they used as weapons from time to time. If Luffy was right and they do live out here , it would certainly be wise to arm yourself. But how could a lead pipe be a practical weapon against a wild animal out here in the jungle, she wondered.

"Hey guys!" Luffy ran up to his two older brothers, happy to see them again after being apart for such a long while.

"Good to see you again, Luffy…" Ace said as he rubbed the younger boy's mess of black hair.

"Yeah, we were starting to worry about you!" Sabo spoke as he shook the his little bother by the shoulder.

Luffy snickered joyfully at the attention he was getting, until he remembered he didn't come alone.

Luffy turned and ran back over to the girl watching from afar with his smile brightening on his face and showed her his hand. "Come on, Robin! These are my brothers I told you about!"

Robin's skeptical at first, but then found some courage and took his hand, letting lead him over to the two older boys.

"Ace! Sabo!" Luffy declared. "This is Robin! She's a new friend I made while I was gone with grandpa!"

As Luffy let Robin step forward, the girl began to shuffle her feet and look down at the ground in shyness.

"It's nice to meet you…" she managed to speak. "Luffy's told me a lot about you both…"

Ace and Sabo looked at the girl in front of them, eyeing her up and down.

"She's cute…" they both spoke a little louder then they wanted to. Robin blushed at this, while Luffy felt something inside him that made him…uncomfortable…

Suddenly, Ace hopped right in front of Robin, taking the girl by surprise. "Hey, I'm Ace! Nice to meet you!" he said as cooly as he could.

He was then pushed out of the way by Sabo, who took his place in front of Robin. "I'm Sabo! It's nice to meet you too!" He said a little to giddy to be considered normal.

As Ace and Sabo began to fight for the right to talk to Robin, the girl was feeling quite lost in awkwardness by the whole spectacle. Luffy on the other hand was not liking the way that Ace and Sabo were talking to Robin. He thought they'd treat her like a friend, not… ** _this!_**

The straw hatted boy decided to squeeze in between his brothers and friend, wanting Ace and Sabo to stop fighting over Robin and change the subject. For what reason, he didn't really know…

"So, guys!" Luffy brought the two out of they're fighting. "Find anything for dinner tonight? Dadan said you were looking for food!"

"You bet we got dinner, Luffy! Check it out!" Ace bragged as he knocked his fist hard on the tree of their house and two massive figures fell out of the branches. The figures being two massive wild boars, bigger than any natural sized boar that Robin could think of. The dark haired girl was perplexed. Two ten year old boys did **this** , to **two giant wild boars** , with **lead pipes?!**

Luffy on the other hand, was more focused on the animals that fell out of the sky. "Oh, boy! Wild boar! My favorite!"

"Anything that's meat is your favorite, Luffy!" Sabo chuckled as he walked around to start pulling the boar by its tail, heading for Dadan's shack.

"So, Robin?" Ace asked the girl as he went and threw the large tusked pig over his shoulder, possibly wanting to impress Robin. "Where'd you come from?"

Robin was feeling quite shy, finding difficulty in talking to others os casually. "I-I came from the island of Ohara…It's in the West Blue…"

"The West Blue?!" Ace grew shocked by this, then turned to Luffy who was walking between him and Sabo, with Robin next to him. "Garp took you out that far, Luffy?!" The straw hatted boy replied with a 'Yup!'.

"Wait…" Sabo did some calculating in his head. "Luffy! That means Garp took you through the Grand Line!"

"I know, right?!" Luffy beamed as the fact came to mind once more. "I sailed through the sea that Gold Roger did!"

Robin laughed a little at Luffy's excitement, only to notice Ace look down in what she could only describe as depression and…shame?

"So, Robin?" Sabo called back, wanting to change the subject. "How did you and Luffy end up meeting?"

Robin looked back at the silk hat wearing boy, figuring that he wanted to stop talking about the Grand Line and Gold Roger. But why?

"I helped save her home island from blowing up!" Luffy deadpanned.

Ace and Sabo stopped and stared at their clueless little bother, who was smiling his toothy grin like a loon, then over to Robin, who was shuffling her foot in the dirt with a nervous smile.

"How…did…what?!" Sabo tried to analyze what Luffy had stated.

Robin cleared her throat to try and break the silence and went into explaining the whole story.

"W-well, the long story is Luffy found me out in a forest, when some kids were picking on me…"

* * *

"Oh my…!" Makino had just heard the whole story from Garp and Olivia, each taking a swig of their drinks to help with telling the more difficult parts of the ordeal on Ohara.

"It's a lot to take in, yes…" Garp was in agreement with how Makino was blown away by the tail told.

"That poor girl…Poor Luffy!" The bar tender was starting to feel a little weak at the knees and used the bar to hold herself up.

"Those two are lucky to be so young…saving an entire island from certain doom, and they just forget about it in a matter of days, as if it instantly became a distant memory." Garp rubbed his head, letting the hardships of the last number of days wash over him to help them pass all the quicker.

Makino looked at the woman with misty eyes. Out of all the people that were caught up in the madness, the bar tender considered her to be one of the main that suffered most, along with the two children.

Makino reached her hand over to the one Olivia had around her glass, making the white haired scholar look her in the eye.

"Your'e an amazing woman, Olivia!" Makino complimented. "After everything you've been through, you deserve a happy outcome such as this! You and Robin are going to be so happy living in Foosha Village!"

Olivia smiled slightly at the kind words, then a thought shocked her to her senses. "Wait! Where **_is_** Robin?! It's starting to get dark!"

"Don't worry, Olivia!" Garp spoke as he pulled himself from his seat and walked to the doorway of Makino's bar.

"I think I've got a good idea where those two ran off to…"

* * *

As the moon of the night sky shown down on Mt. Colubo, the two older children were just hearing the last of Luffy and Robin's adventure.

"Whoah…" Ace exclaimed bewildered.

"You guys actually saved **an entire island** from being **blown up?!"** Sabo couldn't fathom it himself.

The two younger ones only nodded their heads, Luffy with a proud grin and Robin with a flattered smile.

"Way-to-go, Luffy!" Ace slapped his little brother on the back. "Saving the day and getting the girl!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Luffy screamed with a blush on his cheeks once more. Robin was starting to get sick of Luffy saying that. It just felt…hurtful.

"I wish I was there to see that green suit wearing jerk get close-lined by your grandpa…" Sabo muttered in a curiously venomous tone.

"Wait, something's bugging me…" Ace put his hand to his chin in calculation. "How'd you manage to trick that CP guy into going in another direction, if you were hiding in the bush behind him?"

"Uhh…Well…" Robin had left out the part about her having powers, not wanting to be shunned by Luffy's brothers. Luffy wondered why she did the too, he knew they'd accept her like they him.

Before the matter could go any further, a voice roared out from the lit up shack they were arriving at.

"It's about time you showed up! I'm so hungry, I'm starting to wither away to skin and bones!" Dadan barked at the kids as she stood at the doorway.

"Seems like you've still got a long way to go until that happens, Dadan!" Ace smirked as he tossed her his dead boar.

Dadan was fuming at the comment while the kids made their way inside. Dadan caught one look at robin and stopped her by putting a hand in front of her face.

"And where do you think you're going, young lady?!" She snarled with her cigarette in her large lips.

"I was going to come in and eat…" Robin spoke in a small voice. The way Dadan acted and looked was almost a spitting image of her horrid Aunt Roji.

Dadan looked down at the girl, her resolve weakening at how precious the little dark haired girl was, looking up at her with those big blue eyes…

Reluctantly, she brought her hand back to let robin pass, only to stop her again.

"If you wanna eat, you gotta fight for your meal! That's how it goes!" The thug of a woman warned darkly.

Robin looked up at the old bandit woman, noticing the kindness in her words through the tone she used.

Once Dadan stopped blocking her path, Robin stepped inside and looked back at the thug of a woman.

"Thank you for having me!" She brightly smiled as she made her way over to Luffy and his brothers.

Dadan didn't show it, but she was inwardly gushing at how adorable this girl was.

"FOOD'S READY!" A bandit called inside the shack, bringing Dadan back to reality.

Dadan rushed back indoors, ready for whatever fight came her way for a piece of that succulent roast boar.

* * *

Soon enough, the run down shack in the middle of the jungle was lit up and erupting with activity.

Once the boars that Ace and Sabo bright back were skinned, cooked and placed on the table, the war to not go to bed hungry begun. The three brothers, Ace, Sabo and Luffy, easily managed to grab a good load of meat, leaving not very much behind for the bandits, Dadan and Robin, who was sitting far off from the ongoing chaos.

The three boys were digging into their food, when Luffy looked over at Robin who hadn't eaten anything yet.

"C'mon, Robin!" Luffy encouraged. "You have to try and get something, or else it's all going to disappear!"

"I-I'm fine, thank you…" Robin politely played off, only to have her stomach grumble and a blush of embarrassment come to her cheeks.

Luffy frowned at his friend's behavior, only to have an idea pop into his head. He leaned in close to Robin's ear, making the girl blush more. "Robin, why don't use your powers?" He whispered.

"What?! I can't do that!" She hissed back.

"Why not?! I did!" Luffy argued as he bit into his meat once more.

Robin was against using her powers, afraid that she might be exiled by Luffy's brothers and everyone else here, even if they were bandits. Then she thought of Makino, and how accepting she was of her came to mind. If someone like her could accept her for what she had, then could these bandits?

Robin looked back at Luffy, who was enjoying his dinner next to his older brothers. The dark haired girl then decided to take a chance and made her Hana Hana pose.

Luffy seeing this, nudged his brothers next to him, getting their attention. "Hey, guys!" He said in a hushed tone. "Watch this!"

As the rest of the bandits kept fighting for their meal, a row of hands began to sprout out of the floor, making a trip leading all the way to the pile of meat. Suddenly, all eyes were on the row of limbs, as one hand grabbed a hunk of meat and passed it down the row of hands behind it, leading all the way back to Robin, who simply took it in her own hands, while the rest disappeared into thin air.

"I ate the Hana Hana Devil Fruit…" She reluctantly admitted. "I can grow body parts anywhere I see…"

Silence went through the shack, everyone staying still in shock. All eyes were now on Robin, who was afraid of what might happen next. She knew she shouldn't have used her powers!

"That…" Ace began.

"Is so…" Sabo continued.

 **"AWESOME!"** They both finished, making the girl jump in surprise.

"Is that how you lost that green suited guy in the forest?!" Sabo asked excitedly, Robin nodding quietly in he stupor.

"That was some good thinking!" Ace complimented, making the girl blush at being praised.

"Multiple arms are way better then starchy ones, any day!" Ace took a shot at Luffy, easily ticking the boy off.

"Don't make fun of my powers!" Luffy shouted, thus igniting another small fist fight with his older brother, something that wasn't a rare occurrence.

"No fair!" The comment brought Robin's attention to the bandits.

"First we had to deal with Luffy's stretchy arms and massive appetite, now we've got a little girl that can grow arms out of the ground!"

"There's no way were gonna be able to get a full meal now!"

"Having a Devil Fruit power is practically cheating!"

Robin's good mood started to sink, until the voice of Dadan ringed out over the moaning of the bandits.

"That's enough! That girl had an ace up her sleeve and she used it! You all would have done the same! She got what she wanted and she did it fair and square! At least on our terms! So quit you're whining, take what you can get and be happy about it!"

All the bandits hung their heads, feeling bad for their words. Dadan took advantage of their distracted state and grabbed a few chinks of boar, enraging her men and bringing the fight for food back on again.

Robin was surprised but warmed by the thug of a woman's words. She may have acted and looked like Roji, but Dadan was at least a little bit nicer than her miserable old Aunt.

"Robin!" The new voice came from the front door of the shack, belonging to Robin's mother, Olivia.

"Momma!" Robin happily called as her mother rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around the dark haired girl.

"Did any of these men hurt you?!" The white haired scholar panicked.

"No, Momma!" Robin laughed. "They've been really nice!" All the bandits had currently stopped to stare at the white haired beauty that had rushed into the room.

"I see dinner is in full swing!" Makino then stepped into the barely holding house, causing all the bandits to swoon at the sight of the pretty bar tender, along with the gorgeous white haired scholar.

As the men were distracted, Robin made another row of hands and grabbed a piece of meat, bringing it back to Olivia.

Once she had the boar in her hands, Olivia looked at her smiling daughter and then smiled as well, seeing the confidence her daughter had in using her powers.

The new change in scenery was helping after all, along with the fresh new faces that didn't discriminate her baby girl. The ex-archeologist could cry at how much good fortune was being bestowed to her and Robin.

"I trust you've been treating this young girl well, Dadan?" That was a voice that made Dadan and her man spit their food out in complete and utter horror.

"G-Garp!" Dadan blanched as she got to her feet and stood at attention, as if mimicking a soldier. "O-Of course we have! I wouldn't let a single hand land on such a pretty little girl's head!"

"That's good!" Garp replied. "Because this girl and her mother are under my protection. If anything were to happen to any of them, I'd be inclined to return any harm done to an extended degree…"

A cold shiver ran down each of the bandit's spines at the hero of the navy's words.

"Are we clear?" he finished.

"YISSIR!" The bandits chorused, not wanting to try their luck with the vice admiral.

"Splendid!" Garp returned to his jolly demeanor, walking over to the pile of meat to grab a bite.

"That's Robin's Mom?!" Sabo was blown away with how beautiful Olivia was.

"So that's where Robin got to look so cute!" Ace whispered into the silk hatted boy's ear, who only nodded his head in agreement. Luffy heard this and then bit into his dinner with more ferocity, as if he was upset about something.

The small party went on long into the night, putting the agitation and stress that the ones who returned from Ohara to one side, letting the gathered occupants laugh, sing and dance for just the sake of it.

As the small party went on, the children were still munching away on what meat was left over, until Sabo decided to try and talk to Robin again, this time without sounding so nervous with any luck.

"So, Robin," Sabo mumbled as he chewed on a bite of boar. "Being from an island all about being smart, you must really like books!"

"Yeah! The Tree of Knowledge was my favorite place on the island! The only place I miss if I had to be honest!" robin stated as she ate.

"How come?" Ace innocently asked as he kept biting into his boar. The sudden quiet from the girl got the attention of the three brothers, looking at robin who had a sullen face on.

"The rest of the island wasn't so nice to me…" robin explained sadly. "The kids all made fun of me, because of my powers and because I liked to read."

As Robin told of her harsh background, some of the noise died down so that some could here her better.

"My Aunt Roji would always beat me and call me a waste of space…" The dark haired girl went on.

Hearing that only made Olivia all the happier for snapping that horrible woman's arm.

"And all the townspeople would just glare at me all the time, whenever I went to the library…Like I didn't belong with them…" Robin bowed her head in sorrow.

Upon hearing this, Ace and Sabo became motionless at the girl's words. They both looked down at the floor, a painful understanding filling they're hearts.

Makino wiped away some shed tears, along with most of the bandits that listened in on the little girl's sad story. Garp looked at Robin then at Ace, seeing a great deal of similarity in the two's history.

Robin sat in her place with a down look in her eye, until a hand placed on her shoulder brought her out of her mind. Looking back up, she saw Luffy smiling at her.

"Well, now you're with us, Robin! We don't think you're a monster, a freak, or anything like that!" Luffy beamed.

Ace and Sabo both got up and walked in front of the little dark haired girl.

"No matter how different you are, we'll have your back no matter what!" Ace hiked his thumb toward himself, implying his resolve with a confidant grin.

"We'll make sure that no one hurts you like that again, robin! That's a promise!" Sabo clenched his fist in determination, showing a smile with his missing tooth.

Robin looked to the three boys, then at all the adults amount her, all of them showing concern and admiration on their faces. All for her…

Robin wiped the mist from her eyes and let a smile break out, showing just how happy she was to be with so many wonderful people.

"Thank you…" She spoke with an emotional voice.

Luffy decided to pick up his glass of juice and lifted it in the air, proposing a toast.

 ** _"TO ROBIN!"_** He cried, initiating a chorus of the same words from nearly everyone in the shack.

For the rest of the night, dinner turned into a welcoming party for Foosha Village's new occupants; Nico Robin and Nico Olivia.

* * *

As the party went on, Olivia decided to step out for a breath of fresh air, looking up into the starry sky above.

"Is everything alight?" The new voice caused the white haired scholar to turn and face Makino, who had come up from behind.

"It's wonderful…" Olivia sighed. "So much good fortune couldn't be summed up to simple 'dumb luck'…"

Makino smiled at this, then remembered something that had been birthing her fro a while.

"Olivia," the bar tender asked. "When Robin said she wanted to be an archeologist, why did you get so tense?"

The question made the mother turn around, giving Makino her full attention.

"Archeology made me give up so much and left me with nothing but heartache," Olivia explained. "To see Robin do the same, following my example…I don't want to see her go after a cause that anointed to nothing but bloodshed! Something that could lead her to being…" She couldn't even finish, the thought was so horrible.

Makino took Olivia by the shoulders, trying to ease the white haired scholar.

"It'll be alright, Olivia," Making spoke softly. "With all the luck that you've been getting, Robin might forget all about the ponoglyphs and enjoy her new life, being with her new friends and family!"

Olivia could only hope that that would be the course that life would take. The Void Century can stay void for all she cared. Now that she had been given a second chance to be a mother, she didn't plan on making more of a blunder in Robin's life than she already had.

All that mattered was keeping her daughter safe in this quiet town of windmills, and as happy as she looked while she laughed along with her new friends.


	6. Burned

**_Burned_**

Only one week had passed as the reunited mother and daughter were just beginning to make themselves at home in Foosha Village.

Through the past number of days, Robin had made her way up the mountain to see if Luffy and his brothers were around the bandit shack. Some days she would be lucky to find them, some days not so much. The days she was lucky, they would spend the time they had playing games and getting to know one another.

As Foosha Vilage was waking up to another beautiful morning, Robin and Olivia had sat at the table in the kitchen to enjoy breakfast together.

"I hope my cooking is up to par!" Olivia spoke as she set down a plate of eggs and bacon in front of Robin, who was drooling at the sight of the steaming dish. She immediately dove into eating, humming in delight of the warm food.

"It's delicious!" Robin announced as she went back to shoveling food into her mouth. Olivia smiled before digging in to her own breakfast. A moment of peaceful quiet set upon the mother and daughter, as birds tweeted outside the cottage and voices of the neighboring populace greeted each other with a good morning.

Robin was so into her food, she nearly forgot what she wanted to talk about with her mother. Now seemed like as good a time as any.

"Momma?" The white haired scholar looked to her daughter with a forkful of bacon in her mouth. "Are Professor Clover and the others going to be okay?"

Olivia looked up from her plate back to the worried gaze of her daughter. The white haired scholar was just as worried for her old colleagues.

It had been two weeks already since the mother and daughter had made themselves at home in Foosha Village and one week in that time since Ohara became a little aggressive on itself.

Once the marines and government had set off from the island, the citizens scorned with the threat of a Buster Call over their heads for so long, began to take their frustrations out on the Tree of Knowledge and it's scholars, blaming them for nearly bringing death and destruction onto their home.

Some citizens even went as far to start assaulting the Tree itself, vandalizing it from the outside and attempting to break in. the scholars have been putting up a tough front, but are still taking the backlash of the populaces wrath.

Garp decided to make another visit to Ohara, wanting to calm the citizens temperaments and make sure that the Tree, along with the scholars, would no longer be bothered.

Olivia came out of her thoughts to see her daughter looking back, worry still stricken across her face. The white haired scholar gave Robin a quick, reassuring smile. "I'm sure they'll be all right…"

Robin gave a nod in approval, but still felt concerned for her old friends back home.

* * *

As the morning went on and the townsfolk began their day, Robin and Olivia came out of their little cottage and began their journey up to Mt. Colubo, so that Robin could be with her new friends.

It felt so good for Olivia to see Robin smiling and happy, among people that treated her like a human being, instead of how the people of Ohara did, besides the scholars of the tree.

Once the mother and daughter reached the old bandit shack, Robin ran forward in excitement, not being able to wait any longer to see her new friends.

The dark haired girl brought her hands to her mouth to make her call louder. "LUFFY!"

No sound was returned.

"ACE! SABO!"

"What's with all the ruckus?!" A loud bellow came from the barely standing homestead. The voice it belonged to could be easily recognized by the two women outside.

Dadan came stomping out of the shack, wearing her pink nighty, two bags under her eyes and an irritated scowl on her face.

"Must you shout like that, every time you come here?!" Dadan fumed.

Ever since Robin and Luffy came back, the little dark haired girl had come up to the bandit's living place and called out to the jungle for the straw hatted boy.

Dadan would usually complain about being woken up so early in the morning, early being around eleven, but the bandits enjoying the sight of the gorgeous white haired scholar and her darling daughter made her argument invalid.

"Good morning, Robin!" The bandits cheered together in a gushing manner.

"Morning!" The little dark haired girl waved happily.

"Good morning, Olivia!" the bandits unified in a smitten chorus.

"H-hello…" Olivia returned not so enthusiastically. She may have been a criminal herself, but she didn't like the idea of Robin being around the likes of them, or being eyed in such a fashion herself.

"Have you seen Luffy anywhere?" Robin asked.

"Why don't you go into that jungle and find him yourself?" Dadan grumbled as she hiked her thumb in the thick green wild's direction.

Robin looked back at the jungle and gulped. She had no idea how Luffy and his bothers could actually live out there. Seeing the size of those giant boars they had for dinner her first day here showed just what kind of over sized wildlife there was in there. Going in with Luffy guiding the way was fine, but braving that jungle alone was too much for Robin. Anything could happen to her…

Anything could happen to Luffy…

A rustle in the distance brought her attention to a brush of moving bushes. Pushing the thick leaves aside, Luffy, Ace and Sabo came out of the jungle and into the open.

Placing his eyes on Robin, Luffy's face broke out into a smile and then sprinted up to the girl, forcing the other two behind him to catch up.

"Hey, Robin!" Luffy called as he ran up to the dark haired girl.

"Luffy!" Robin happily chimed as the two met up close.

Luffy wore his large toothy grin, while Robin smiled and bowed her head to hide a deep blush.

"Hey, Robin!" The young boy and girl turned their heads to face Ace, who was flexing his exposed arm. "Check it out! I think I grew some muscle today!"

Robin pretended to be impressed, wanting to be polite, while Luffy gave a loud huff in annoyance.

"Hey, Robin!" Now it was Sabo's turn to try and get the girl's attention. "I think my missing tooth is starting to grow back! Wanna see?"

"N-no thanks!" Robin brought her arms up to cover her face, not wanting to see such a gross display.

"Cut it out, Sabo!" Luffy yelled as he stepped in front of Robin to shield her from the sight of Sabo's gums.

"Geez, Luffy! No need to be so defensive!" Sabo reasoned as he stopped pulling at his mouth.

"What would you expect, Sabo! Robin's his ** _girlfriend_** after all!" Ace chided in with a mocking smirk.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Luffy yelled with boring red cheeks, while Robin clapped her reddening cheeks with her palms to cover them.

"Then why are you protecting her like that?" Ace carried on.

"No one wants to see the inside of someone's mouth!" Luffy spoke up.

"Then how come you show us yours all the time when you scarf down food?!" Ace then tackled Luffy to the ground. The two then began to tussle in the dirt, striking up a cloud of dust to cover up they're flailing arms and legs in their fight.

"Guys! Cut it out!" Sabo attempted to break up the fight, only to be sucked into the cloud and join the small fray.

Robin watched the spectacle before her and couldn't help but laugh. Olivia saw her daughter's joy and smiled at her and the amusing skirmish.

"Hi, everyone!" The call of a feminine voice stopped the boys mid-brawl and everyone watching turn to the new visitor.

Makino was making her way up the dirt path to the bandit shack, carrying a large wicker basket under her arm.

"Makino's here too! What luck! Seeing two beautiful ladies at the beginning of the day!" The bandits were delighted by the sight of the kind hearted bar-tender, as Makino made her way over to Olivia to greet her good morning.

"How's the new home?" The green haired woman inquired.

"It's wonderful. Robin and I are so happy living there." Olivia returned with a smile of gratitude.

"And speaking of which…" Makino turned to the four young ones and placed the basket on the ground. "How are all of you doing?"

"Were good." Luffy smiled as he, Ace and Sabo got up from their fight and dusted themselves off.

Makino turned to the little dark haired girl next. "And how are you, Robin?"

"I'm fine…thank you." Robin looked down and blushed. The bar-tender's kindness had that effect on her, she was just so nice!

"That's good to hear!" Making beamed. "Because I have a surprise for all of you!"

"Is it food?" The ever hungry Luffy asked excitedly.

 ** _"You just had breakfast!"_** Ace barked at the seven year old.

 ** _"And ours too!"_** Sabo complained, which only made the straw hatted boy laugh.

"No," Makino pulled the cloth covering the basket off. "It's some new clothes I've made for you all!"

Luffy, Ace and Sabo replied with an unenthusiastic "Yay…" while Robin looked down at the tattered brown dress she wore, silently wishing she had new clothes too.

Olivia frowned at this. Since she didn't have a paying job yet in town, she hadn't been able to get any new furniture or clothes for her or Robin. The food they've been having daily were just hand-outs from the friendly neighbors they lived by. As kind as it was of them to do, the mother still wanted to provide for her daughter.

Makino beamed, even if the three brothers weren't as happy as she was. "Now line up and let me give them to you!"

As the three boys got behind one another to get their new garments, Robin couldn't help but try to peek at what new clothes the boys got.

"Hold on, boys!" The dark haired girl stopped trying to snoop from afar when Makino spoke up, stopping the three in their tracks. "Have you no manners? Ladies first!"

The three brothers stopped and gaped, wondering what the green haired woman was talking about.

"Robin!" Makino motioned her hand towards the girl. "Come over here! I've made you some new clothes too!"

Robin was stunned. "R-really?" Olivia was just as surprised as her daughter was.

"Of course, silly! Why wouldn't I?" Makino smiled. She beckoned to Robin with her hand.

Robin remained frozen in place, only to have a smile brighten on her face as she practically ran over to Makino and her basket.

"Oh, Robin!" Makino slightly squealed. "I'm so happy your'e here! I've always wanted to make girl's clothes for someone, and I know your going to look so adorable in them too!"

Robin just stood in front of the sweet green haired woman, anxious at the generosity she was being shown.

"Let's go behind some of those trees and get you out of that worn out old dress of yours!" Makino took Robin's hand and lead her over to a small gathering of large trees, taking the basket with her. "Where did you get that thing anyway?"

"My Aunt Roji…" Robin sadly muttered, just as the two went behind the trees.

Upon hearing this, Olivia contemplated going back to Ohara quickly and snapping her ex in-law's other arm.

Sabo leaned over to Luffy to whisper something. "Robin's aunt wasn't nice to her **that** much?"

"Yeah…" Luffy nodded. "She says that she used to hit her a lot too…"

Sabo flinched at this, looking back at the tree where the two girls were behind.

"But it' okay!" Sabo looked back at his younger bother.

"Robin got to call her an ugly troll before we left, so she got her payback in the end!" Luffy snickered at the memory.

Sabo smiled slightly at this but returned to having a glum look on his face.

"Oh, Robin!" The sudden call alerted everyone present, bringing Sabo out of his thoughts in an instant.

"You look so cute! I knew purple was a good color for you! Oh, I wish I had a cute little sister like you! Would you be my little sister? Please, Robin?"

"Makino…you're…crushing…me!" Robin gasped out from the girls hiding place.

"Oh! Sorry, sweetheart!" Makino giggled. "Now, let's go show off your new clothes, shall we?"

"I-I don't…" Robin nervously sounded out.

"Oh, come on, you look wonderful! Everyone will love how you look!" Makino pleaded.

"I bet Luffy will too…" The bar-tender slyly remarked.

Luffy's face burst into the color red as he suddenly began to wonder what Robin looked like.

"…R-really?" Robin voiced her curiosity.

"Of course he will! There would have to be something wrong with him if he didn't!" Makino reasoned, not wanting to push the poor girl, but also wanting to see everyone else's reaction to Robin's new look, especially Luffy's.

"…Okay…" Robin agreed, still nervous.

As Makino stepped out from behind the wide trunk of the tree, Robin timidly followed behind.

Luffy, Ace and Sabo's faces lit up in crimson.

Robin was now wearing a dress that went down and covered her knees like her old brown one, only this one was a light purple color, with a white collar going around the girl's neck, light brown buttons going down the front and pockets on either side of the dress. Covering her once bare feet were now a pair of brown ankle strap sandal shoes. Robin was paying more attention to her shuffling feet, blushing at the sets of eyes on her.

"Well, boys?" Makino inquired. "What do you think?"

The brothers came out of their stupor and shook their heads to rid themselves of they're blushing cheeks. Sabo and Ace were eager to voice their opinion and rushed forward first.

"Y-you look great, Robin!" Sabo intensely stated, unable to talk to the dark haired girl with a sense of calm.

"Yeah! That dress looks super cute on you!" Ace complimented, wanting to get Robin's attention.

"T-Thank you…" Robin stuttered out, feeling flattered at the praise.

Luffy was still standing away from the small gathering, clutching his fists and clenching his teeth. He **_really_** didn't like the way Ace and Sabo were acting towards **_his_** friend…

"Well, Luffy?" The call of his name brought him out of his fuming as he looked toward the awaiting Makino and a slightly curious looking Robin. "What do you think?"

Luffy was frozen in place. He just stood there, taking in her new look. Robin began to blush a little more than when the two older siblings complimented her.

"Luffy?" Robin hesitantly asked, afraid that he didn't like what she looked like.

"U-uh!" Luffy gaped, then suddenly shook his head to get over the shock as the words came out of his mouth in a sputter.

"Thatpurpledressmakesyoureyessparkle!"

If the blush on Robin's face was bright before at Ace and Sabo's words, then it was straight up glowing at Luffy's.

Makino was using all of her willpower not to go into a squealing frenzy, Ace and Sabo were beside themselves with what just came out of their little brother's mouth, and Olivia had to wonder how this little boy could be so against having feelings for her daughter and be so smitten with her at the same time.

"T-Thank you…Luffy…" Robin made the decision in her head to try and wear purple from now on.

"Thank you so much for this, Makino." The white haired scholar whispered to the bar-tender. "You really didn't have to do this, though."

"But I wanted to, Olivia." Makino smiled back. "And it was my pleasure!"

The ex-archeologist felt a pang of guilt go through her as she watched her daughter show off her new dress. "I just wish I could provide for her somehow…"

Makino's heart went out to the struggling mother, then had an idea. "I know! Why don't you come work for me in the bar?"

"Your'e giving me a job?" Olivia was greatly surprised by this.

"Why not? It would be great to have you! Besides…" The bar-tender then had a sly grin spread across her face. "Having such a lovely looking bar maid like you would really rake in the customers!"

Olivia blushed at the compliment and was to bashful to say anything in protest.

With a clap from Makino, all the kids turned their attention back to her.

"Alright! That's enough! I've still got to give the rest of you your new clothes!" Luffy, Ace and Sabo groaned at this but lined up anyway, wanting to get this over with.

"How do I look, Momma?" This call from the dark haired girl to the waited haired scholar got the attention of Ace, as he looked over at the mother and dauhgter.

"You look absolute wonderful, Robin!" Olivia beamed happily. The two then came together in a warm embrace.

Seeing this made Ace feel a uncomfortable pang in his chest…

* * *

Once the trying on of clothes was done, the boys had their day back.

"So, what do you guys want to play today?" Robin questioned excitedly, ready fro another day of being around her new firends.

"Sorry, Robin," Ace spoke in a strangely stern manner. "Since **_somebody_** ate our whole food supply last night…!" Luffy merely chuckled at this while Sabo put his hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Were gonna have to go out hunting if were gonna have anything for dinner tonight!"

"Hunting?" Robin wondered out loud.

"Yeah!" Luffy replied excitedly. "We go into the jungle and find any wild animals that look good enough to eat!"

Robin grew concerned for her friend, imagining what other kind of gigantic beasts lay in waiting in the thick wild apart from those boars she first saw that could attack the boys… or Luffy…

Luffy, unaware of the girl's concern, then had an idea. "I know, Robin! Why don't you come with us?!"

Robin was brought out of her musing to look at Luffy with shock. "You mean…go…in there?" Robin took in the sight of the dark forbidding forest, uneasiness filling her stomach.

"What are you guys talking about?" Makino and Olivia came over to check on the children.

"Luffy asked Robin if she wanted to go hunting in the jungle with us." Sabo hiked his thumb over at his younger sibling.

Olivia's mothering instincts kicked in and before she could utter a word of defiance, the freckled boy of the three bothers spoke up.

"Forget it, Luffy, Robin wouldn't last one-second out their, even if she was with us!"

Everyone turned their heads toward Ace, seeing him looking off in a random direction.

"Aww…" Luffy pouted. "Why not?"

"Robin doesn't know the jungle like we do, and she defiantly can't defend herself against any wild animals we'll find in there!" Ace pointed out.

"Wild…animals?!" The girl began to quiver at the notion, partly for her sake but mostly for Luffy's.

"See? She's getting scared right now!" Ace went on rudely.

"Take it easy, Ace!" Sabo interjected and turned back to his little brother. "He does have a point though, Luffy."

"Then I'll protect her!" Luffy declared, making the dark haired girl blush at his boldness.

Renewed courage filled her heart as Robin turned to her mother. "Can I go with them, Momma? Please!"

Seeing the pleading bright eyes of her little girl, Olivia was hesitant on replying. "I…don't think it would be safe, Robin."

"Oh…" Robin dropped her head at hearing this. Unbeknownst to everyone, Ace felt a slither of satisfaction run through him, only for it do disappear entirely when Luffy spoke up once again.

"Don't worry, Robin! I'll stay here with you!" The straw hatted boy beamed.

"Really?" Robin looked up again, happiness shining off of her. Luffy replied with a nod and a smile.

"Those two are inseparable…" Sabo chuckled.

Once Ace had heard this statement from the top hatted boy, something inside him just snapped.

 ** _"WHAT THE HECK MAKES YOU SO SPECIAL?!"_**

All eyes turned to the freckled boy, even Dadan and the bandits watching from afar, being able to hear the loud outburst.

"Ace, what the-?" Was as far as Sabo could go as the seething ten year old marched up to the young girl.

"It must be so great being you! Having devil fruit powers, having Luffy all to yourself, **having a mom!"** Ace continued to roar, making Robin shake like a leaf with every shout he made.

"Ace!" Makino placed her hands on Robin's shoulders protectively. Ace didn't stop his advancing until Olivia stepped before the boy, towering over him with a stern gaze in her eyes.

"Get away from my daughter!" The mother growled.

Ace looked at her, then back the girl she was standing in front of, his anger growing more and more.

"Ace! Stop it!" Luffy bellowed, running up to defend Robin.

"Darn it, Luffy!" Ace turned on his younger bother, letting his rage take control of him. "Why do you want to stick around with a little crybaby like her?!"

Robin took offense to this, until Luffy started to speak up again. "Robin's not a crybaby! She's my friend! And she's a lot tougher then you think she is!"

"As if!" Ace spat. "If she couldn't fight off a bunch of stupid kids and her aunt, then there's no way she's as tough as you say she is!"

The sound of a slap echoed across the wide opening. Nobody moved or said another word as everyone took in the sight of what had just happened.

Olivia had just struck Ace across the cheek.

Ace was so in shock of the contact, he was a barely able to turn back to the white haired scholar as she looked down on him with a fiery stare.

"You don't know anything!" She whispered coldly.

Before anyone could do anything else, Olivia turned on her heel and scooped up her daughter in her arms and made her way back down the dirt path to Foosha Village.

"Momma?" Robin questioned shakily.

"We're going home Robin!" Olivia ordered, not leaving any room for an argument.

Robin looked back at Makino and the three boys, seeing Luffy's sad pout, Sabo's regretful eyes looking down, and Ace staring into space with anger and regret.

Once the mother and daughter's presence disappeared down the path, Luffy's temper came back as he stomped up to Ace.

"What the heck was that for, Ace?!" the straw hatted boy erupted. "Robin didn't deserve any of that, and you know it!"

Ace was stunned with seeing this part of Luffy, never before seeing him so furious. He never even thought Luffy could get this angry.

"Robin's my friend, weather you like it or not! And if you keep treating her like that, **then I don't wanna be your brother anymore!"**

That statement rocked Ace to the core.

As the straw hatted boy stomped his way back toward the forest, Sabo walked past the freckled boy, his face contorted in shame.

"Not cool, Ace…" The top hatted boy shook his head. "Not cool…"

Sabo then walked ahead to catch up to Luffy, leaving Ace standing in the middle of the open area. He looked back at Makino, who only gave him a stern look, showing she was not proud of him. Dadan and the rest of the bandits weren't all that pleased with his little stunt either.

Ace looked down and continued to brood on the spot, not even daring to move a muscle.

* * *

"How could he say such awful…?!" Olivia gave a huff of annoyance as she went about the kitchen, making the two of them some lunch. Robin was sat in one of the dining tables chairs, depression rolling off of her in waves.

"Momma?" The dark haired girl spoke up quietly, gaining her mother's attention. "Is it bad that I'm not as tough as Ace is?"

The white haired scholar was over to Robin in a heartbeat. "It's not a bad thing at all, Robin! Ace is a horrible little boy who likes to pick fights for fun!"

"But," Robin retorted. "Ace is Luffy's bother, so he can't be all bad…"

Olivia stopped in her fuming to notice the gentleness in her daughters words. A smile broke out on her face as she placed her hand on top of the dark haired girl's head, making her look up.

"What you just said…that kindness…that is what is important…more important than ever being tough." She spoke proudly to her little girl.

"But…" Robin didn't seem so persuaded. "What if Ace was right? If I was a little tougher, I could have made those kids leave me alone, and maybe stood up to Aunt Roji too!"

Olivia placed her forehead to Robin's, making the dark haired girl go quiet all of a sudden.

"Fighting back isn't the only way to be tough, Robin…" The ex-archeologist explained. "You may not have been able to fight back, but you still took it all on. You faced the pain day in and day out and didn't let it change you from being the sweet, kind, wonderful little girl you are."

Robin's eyes widened at this realization. The mother pulled her head back to look her daughter in the eyes. "You are so strong, Robin. Stronger than you even know you are."

Robin let the words repeat in her mind, before breaking out into a smile and wrapping her arms around her mother.

* * *

It was nighttime when Ace made his way back to the treehouse. After taking some more time by himself to brood in solitude, he made is way back and was now climbing up the rope ladder the lead to the brothers home.

As soon as he finished making his way to the top, he spotted the disgruntled looks of his two siblings, each of them giving him a glare each. Sao was standing up with his arms crossed over his chest, while Luffy was sitting and leaning on a wall under one of the houses windows, his legs curled up to his chest.

"Something you wanna explain?" Sao inquired, getting straight to the point.

"Not really…" Ace grumbled, walking over to a rad blanket and a pillow in the corner.

"You shouldn't have said that stuff to Robin!" Luffy muttered, not really wanting to fight but not letting the problem go at the same time.

"So what if I did?!"Ace threw his pillow and blanket to the ground in frustration, not wanting to have this heat on him any longer. "She needs to stop being such a crybaby and learn how to take a hit!"

"Robin's taken enough hits, don't you think?!" Sabo remained vigilant. "You heard what she went through back on her home island! She told you herself! Why would you turn around and treat her like that again?!"

"None of your business…" Ace went back to closing himself off as he set his pillow on the floor and pulled his blanket over his head to block out the outside world.

"There's nothing wrong with Robin being nice!" Luffy spoke up again.

"Being nice gets lets other people walk all over you…" Ace muttered from where he lay.

And being tough just chases people away from you!" Sabo voiced out.

When Ace didn't say anything else, Sabo's temper slightly got the best of him.

"I thought that after everything you've been through," Sabo mentioned. "You'd understand how someone like Robin feels."

Ace immediately brought his head up and glared at the top hatted boy. "Don't you dare…"

"Robin was closed off and mistreated by nearly everyone around her, and you were treated the same way!" Sabo didn't relent.

"Stop it right now, Sabo…" Ace stood up and clenched his fist.

"I bet you can imagine how she felt whenever she was picked on or hurt!" Sabo showed no sign of backing down.

"One more word, Sabo, and I'll-!"

"What's so bad about Robin having her mom?!" Luffy suddenly brought up, making the fuming elder bother turn to the boy in utter rage.

 ** _"BECAUSE SHE GETS TO HAVE ONE, AND I DON'T!"_**

A tense silence filled the boy's home.

Now it all made sense.

Ace realized what had left his mouth and proceeded to turn away to one of the make-shift home's windows and looked out of it. No other words needed to be said about the subject. This was a conversation that didn't need to go any further.

Luffy and Sabo watched the boy with quiet understanding. After some time past, Sabo took the chance to speak again.

"You know you have to apologize to her, right?" He advised.

"I know, I know…" Ace relented, wanting to stop blaming himself as soon as possible.

Luffy looked up into the night sky from where he sat. "I hope Robin comes back tomorrow…"

* * *

There was a knock at the door as Makino waited outside of Robin and Olivia's new home. After a short time, the ex-archeologist answers the door and was delighted to see the green haired woman.

"May I come in?" The bar-tender politely asked. The white haired scholar was more than happy to do so.

"Robin just went to bed some time ago, so we have to keep it down." The mother advised.

The two women sat at the kitchen table as Olivia put on a pot of tea. A gentle silence filled the space as Olivia poured two cups and set one in front of Makino and took a seat at the opposite end of the table.

"I can't believe that boy would say such awful things…" Olivia whispered, wishing to keep her frustration down low so as not to wake Robin.

Yes," Makino agreed. "It was certainly uncalled for."

"After everything that Luffy said about his brothers on the ship the way here, I thought he would be an older version of him." Olivia sipped at her tea to calm her nerves.

"I'm afraid there's not of chance there!" The green haired woman chuckled, then took on a solemn look in her eyes. "…There not even of the same blood."

The white haired scholar looked up at this, eyes widening at the new information. Unbeknownst to the both of them, robin was wide awake and currently peeking through her bedroom door to listen in on the conversation.

"Luffy met Ace when his grandfather brought him up to Dadan's for the first time, wanting him to grow up in a dangerous environment to help him grow up to be a strong marine one day." The bar-tender explained.

"At first, Ace wanted nothing to do with him, going as far as to let Luffy follow him into the jungle and try to leave him there, not caring what might happen to him." Olivia was shocked at htis, but not as much as Robin.

"Then somehow, for some reason I still don't know, Ace and Luffy became inseparable." Making smiled her own words. "They started to explore the jungle together, along with Sabo."

Olivia looked down at the word she was hearing,suddenly feeling sympathy for the freckled child.

"That still doesn't give him the right to talk to my daughter like that!" She retorted, not letting the new found pity for the boy overlap the love for her little girl.

"No, it doesn't," The green haired woman went on. "But he has a slight reason for it."

Olivia looked on at the bar-tender, whilst Robin leaned in slightly to get a better earshot.

"Ace's mother died giving birth to him." Makino mournfully stated.

Olivia dropped her jaw slightly, as Robin almost gasped out loud.

"Ever since, he's been living with Dadan since he was a baby, with Garp coming and going to see him." Makino stroked her tea cup with her thumb, numbing the pain of the words slightly for herself. "And as he's grown up, he's been getting into fights with people bigger, older and stronger than him since I can remember being told."

The ex-archeologist looked into the hot liquid in her cup, imagining something like that happening to Robin if she never came back to Ohara. Robin herself was pouting at the sad story of Luffy's older bother, understanding all too well what being outcasted was like.

"If I might make a suggestion," The green haired woman broke through Olivia's sorrowful mind track. "Take Robin back up to the shack to see Luffy and his brothers again."

Olivia looked against this, until Makino explained further. "Ace is undoubtedly rough around the edges, but whenever he makes a mistake, he has the good sense to make it right."

The bar-tender then gave a soft smile. "He's just a tough nut with a soft center, that's all."

Olivia leaned back in her seat, absorbing the information she had just been entailed with. Her mind wondered to Robin, thinking about the connection she's built up with Luffy over the time they've spent together. She still didn't like the idea of her being around that little Ace boy, but depriving her of Luffy, her first ever friend, was something she was not about to commit.

The white haired scholar looked back to the green haired woman who had enlightened her. "Thank you for telling me this, Makino."

"Not a problem!" The bar-tender waved off kindly. "Anything to help keep Robin and Luffy together!"

"Oh, good grief…" The ex-archeologist put her hand to her face, chuckling slightly as the mood of the room turned more light-hearted.

As the two woman talked into the night, Robin made her way back to bed, her thoughts turning to Luffy, Ace, and the pain the two of them shared.

* * *

The sun was beginning to rise as the three boys waited outside of Dadan's run-down home.

Ace was pacing back and forth, eagerly awaiting the chance to make amends with Robin. Sabo stood beside Luffy, leaning against the shack's wall and kicking a few stones in his foot's reach. The straw hatted boy sat quietly next to Sabo, his straw hat over shadowing the look in his eyes.

After a few more moments of waiting, the sight of Makino and Olivia made themselves present, coming up the dirt path on the hill. Luffy brought his head up as he caught sight of Robin, walking in front of the two adult women and immediately leaped to his feet and ran down to meet her.

"Robin!" The straw hatted boy called out.

"Luffy!" The dark haired girl eagerly called back as she ran ahead to meet up with the boy coming her way.

Once meeting each other half way on the path, Robin noticed that Luffy was starting to shed large tears and his nose was running uncontrollably.

"I thought you weren't coming back!" The straw hatted boy blubbered. The dark haired girl was taken back by the gross sight slightly, but was still flattered that someone would care so much about her.

"Of course not, Luffy! I'd never want to leave you!" She claimed joyfully.

Once the words left her mouth, both children blushed bight red and looked down to hide they're flaring cheeks.

"Thanks…Robin…" Luffy muttered sheepishly.

"Yeah…no problem…" Robin returned just as bashfully.

The two women watching from afar smiled at the cute sight, before Olivia noticed the freckled boy of the trio making his way over.

Before she could make a step forward to defend her daughter, Makino stopped her with hand to her shoulder. The bar-tender shook her head, sending the message that it was going to be all right, but the white haired scholar was still skeptical.

"Robin?" Ace made his presence known, bringing the girl back to reality, only to hesitate at the sight of the older brother and take a few steps back. Even Luffy stood in front of the girl, glaring at Ace as he protected Robin. Ace grimaced at this but stayed strong, wanting to make things right between him and Robin.

The freckled boy cleared his throat and looked at Robin in the eye. "I'm sorry."

Robin's eyes widened at this, and even more when the boy bowed his head low with his arms at his sides, showing a great form of humility.

"I'm really sorry for what I said yesterday! You didn't deserve any of it and I wrong to say such things!" He continued.

As Sabo made his way over to the small gathering, he became as stunned as everyone else present. Luffy stopped being on the defensive and was staring at Ace in awe. Robin stood in place surprised, unused to being apologized to before.

Makino smiled at the freckled boy's righteous behavior, glad to see him doing the right thing. Olivia was taken back by how this boy was now acting, even going as far as to bow in front of her daughter. Makino was right after all.

After some time past as everyone stood in silence, Robin was the first to start moving again and look down at the bowing boy. She then gave a warm smile as she walked up closer to him.

"I forgive you, Ace." The boy looked back up in astonishment at the girl, who kept her warm smile in place. "Thank you for apologizing."

At the vision of the dark haired girl smiling so sweetly at him, Ace felt his cheeks begin to glow bright red as he stood back up and cleared his throat again.

"Yeah, uh…no problem…" He managed to speak.

"I heard Makino talk about you last night when she came to see my mom." She admitted as Olivia looked at her daughter, surprised by her sneakiness.

"I'm so sorry you had to grow up like that, Ace." She looked at the boy sympathetically. "It must have been awful."

Ace remembered all the times he was laughed at by drunks and thugs when he was eight years old, and all the times he beat the snot out of them for doing so, getting his fair share of cuts and bruises and complete losses at their hands himself.

"Yeah…" He painfully nodded. "It was…"

The freckled boy gelt a hand clasp his own, and he looked over to see the dark haired girl giving him a warm, caring smile. Ace couldn't help himself but start blushing again and look away to hide his face.

Makino smiled at the sight, glad to know that all was right once again. Olivia felt relieved that things had managed to be sorted out and that the boy hd done the right thing. Sabo was happy to see Ace being more open and gentle with other people, while Luffy was silently fuming with how Robin was holding hands with Ace.

"One thing I can't understand?" Robin let go of the freckled boy's hand, gaining a quizzical look. "Why did you get into so many fights in the first place?"

Ace stopped breathing for a while, uncomfortable with having to answer such a question. Sao blanched at the girl's words, trying to think of a way to change the subject before something bad happened.

"Oh! That's because people laughed at him for being Gold Roger's son!"

Everything and everyone stopped.

All eyes were on Luffy, wide and aghast.

Sabo pulled his top hat down over his face, blown away with how big his little brother's mouth was. Makino looked back at the freckled boy, unable to find any words on the newly presented matter. Olivia was as still as a statue, her educated mind denying such an unnatural theory. Robin only stared at the boy in front of her, her mouth hanging open at the statement she just heard. Dada and the bandits watching from the cabin were sweating bullets; if Garp ever got word of one of his grandson's biggest secrets being outed, he would have their heads. **And it was all Luffy's fault!**

 ** _"Luffy…!"_** Ace ground out through his furiously clenched teeth.

The straw hatted boy looked at each of the flabbergasted faces on everyone present and could only utter one, simple, clueless question.

"…What?"


	7. The ASL Pirates First Day of School

**_The ASL Pirates' First Day of School_**

It had been a few days since Luffy blabbed Ace's biggest secret for all to hear.

At first, Ace was livid with his little bother, the two of them immediately getting into a vicious fistfight after Luffy slipped his secret. After the two of them stopped from exhaustion, the freckled boy made a beeline for the jungle, refusing to be seen by everyone for who knows how long.

Sabo suggested Luffy stay with Dadan and the bandits for the night to let Ace cool off. The straw hatted boy reluctantly agreed and stayed behind to watch Sabo go back into the wild to find their runaway sibling.

"I didn't mean to…" Luffy whined, wishing he could take back what he said.

"I can't really understand how…" Olivia spoke up. "Gold Roger died over twenty years ago, so how could Ace be his son, when he's only ten years old?"

"Because his mother pulled off a miracle…" Everyone turned to the voice of the aged old bandit woman, making her way over to them.

"After Gold Roger died, the navy went on a wide spread man hunt for anyone that had any connection with the pirate king." Dadan explained. "Rumors had reached them that he was associated with a woman by the name of Portages D. Rouge."

"When the navy reached her home island, she was already pregnant with Ace, and if he was born around the time they were investigating…"

"They wouldn't…!" The bar tender brought her hand up to her mouth, horrified at how far the navy would go for the 'greater good'.

"Woudln't they?" The ex-archeologist beside her voiced bitterly, being a victim of the navy's cruel sense of 'justice' herself.

After some silence passed, Dadan continued Ace's sad story.

"Garp explained that Rouge used all of her willpower to hold Ace back when he started to be born. She held on to Ace, passing the predicted birth date and went on to hold onto him for over fifteen months."

The two women shot their heads up at this, only imagining how excruciating the pain would be to hold back a crowning child, especially for that long.

"As you could understand, once the navy left, Rouge finally gave into her labor. She gave birth to Ace, but…well…"

She didn't need to go any further The two women could imagine what happened next.

Rouge died from the amount of strain she put on her body as she at long last gave birth to Ace.

Understandably, Makino and Olivia were flabbergasted with the realization.

Robin looked back into the jungle, concerned for the freckled boy.

"All those people that Ace fought…do they know about…?" Makino feared out loud.

"No," Dadan put the bar tender at ease. "He never wanted anyone to know. He just asked them what if Roger had a son."

"And they laughed at such an idea, and he would understandably grow angry and start a fight…" Olivia guessed the rest.

As the bandit woman nodded her head, sorrow filled the open space the group occupied. Sorrow for a boy, who's only crime was being born…

"Please don't hate Ace for his Dad being Roger!" Luffy suddenly shouted, catching everyone by surprise.

The green haired woman's eyes widened, before softening and kneeling down to Luffy's height.

"I could never hate Ace, Luffy." The bar-tender gently said. "Who you are isn't because of who you were born of, but who you choose to be."

Luffy calmed down when hearing those words and gave a smile.

"Indeed," The ex-archeologist looked to her dark haired daughter. "No one should be blamed for who they're parents are."

Robin was glad that her mother wasn't holding anything against Ace. She too had no problem with who the freckled boy's father was. Yet she also looked puzzled at her mother's words, as if they meant more than the white haired woman let on.

It took a bit of coaxing over the next few days, but they were able to let Ace know that they still cared for him, regardless of his heritage. The freckled boy was still skeptical and acted a little more withdrawn than usual, but soon enough, he was back to his old, ruff-housing self. He was still slightly mad at Luffy for spilling his secret in the first place, but over time, he let the straw hatted boy off the hook.

At the end of the day, they were still brothers.

* * *

It was another bright and sunny morning on Mt. Colubo, with Robin sitting on a stump near by the bandit shack, reading a book while kicking her legs. Olivia was sitting by her daughter, looking at what Robin was reading. The bandits of the old cabin were yet again, watching the white haired beauty from afar.

Earlier that morning, they had received a message from professor Clover, telling them of the situation back on Ohara. Garp had decided, after the civilians kept on bothering the scholars and the Tree of Knowledge, to place the tree under his personal protection, stopping any other assault or disruption caused by the island's populace.

When Olivia came back to reality, she began to notice how many of the bandits were staring at her from they're barely standing home. She was also able to hear the thugs whispers to one another, since they weren't all that good at keeping their noise down.

"Olivia is so pretty!"

"And she's so smart too!"

"What I wouldn't give to get a kiss from her!"

Olivia paid as least of mind as she could from the bandit's leering, still feeling uncomfortable with living around criminals. Robin couldn't help but find the man's swooning funny.

Soon enough, Makino showed up, bringing with her a load of liquor for the bandits. The booze helped to distract the gang of crooks from staring at the two women, a feat Olivia silently thanked the bar-tender for, who only chuckled at knowing how the white haired scholar felt.

"How's the bar, Makino?" Olivia asked.

"It's going great! Especially since you came to work part time!" Makino gave a giggle at the white haired woman's small blush.

Olivia was happy to be earning her keep and supporting her daughter and their home, but she was hoping to do something where she could put her intellect to good use.

Makino then spotted Robin on the stump and knelt down in front of her. "Whatcha reading, Robin?" She smiled.

"I'm reading about the kingdom of Alabasta!" Robin brightly notified, holding the book up. "The kingdom has been going on for generations, surviving the harsh desert environment and has been able to hold onto a treasure trove of its history!"

"Wow! That's amazing!" The bar-tender announced, impressed with how smart and knowledgable this eight year old girl was. The mother herself also smiled of how proud of her little girl's intelligence she was.

After a while, the three brothers made their appearance out of the jungle, Luffy instantly spotting Robin and bee-lining over to her.

"Hey, Robin!" Luffy called, which elected a bright and joyful smile from the dark haired girl.

"Luffy!" Robin waved from where she sat.

When the straw hatted boy made his way over to the girl, Makino gave a playful giggle at the two.

"Luffy just seems to brighten up your day, doesn't he, Robin?" She coyly remarked, causing the two young ones to blush uncontrollably.

"It's so sweet of you to want to see my Robin as soon as you can, Luffy!" Olivia decided to have some fun herself, adoring the red on her little girl's cheeks.

"Yeah! Luffy always goes on and on about wanting to see Robin, every time we wake up in the morning!" Sabo walked up behind the gathering and proceeded to join in on the teasing.

"You shouldn't be so clingy, Luffy! It's a good way to scare a girl off!" Ace slyly chided in, always ready to poke fun at his little brother.

"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Luffy bellowed with a red face, making everyone break out into a small fit of laughter. Robin could only cover her bright red cheeks with her hands, too embarrassed to say a word.

Sabo came out of his laughter to notice the book Robin had left on the stump.

"Hey, Robin?" He pointed at the large paperback. "Were you reading that before we came here?"

"Yeah!" Robin came out of her embarrassment to walk over to the thick print and pick it up. "I like to read before you guys show up!"

Out of the trio of siblings, Sabo was the only one looking at the book with an uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

Ace walked over and let Robin hand the book over to him. "Don't think I've ever seen one before…" He said as he examined the new object.

"You've never seen a book?!" Robin gasped, taking the freckled boy by surprise.

"N-no…" Ace steadily answered. "Guess that explains why I can't read much either…"

"You don't know how to read?!" Robin seemed overly offended by this, which was starting ti give Ace a little of the creeps.

"I don't think I know how either!" Luffy spoke up, whilst picking his nose at the same time. "Maybe that's why I didn't like reading in that giant tree library on Ohara."

"Luffy, please don't pick your nose." Makino lectured.

"YOU TOO?!" Robin got up in Luffy's face, scaring him off his feet.

"Books hold the greatest gift that mankind could ever give itself; the gift of knowledge!" Robin spoke strongly. "Knowledge helps the world to evolve and expand into a higher form of living and culture! Knowledge unites all living beings to share and cooperate with one another! Knowledge is the greatest power we have in the world!"

After finishing her unpredicted speech, Robin looked back at all the perplexed faces that had listened to her words. Realizing what she just did, she hid her face behind her reading material to shield her returning blush.

"At least that's what I think…" she shyly muttered.

Robin felt a hand being placed on top of her head, looking up to see her mother giving her a warm smile. Olivia was truly proud of her daughter caring so much about knowledge in a whole.

"Well," Ace decided to break the silence. "If you like to read that much, then that's cool!"

"Yeah!" Luffy threw his fists in the air in happiness. "Robin's super smart! That's part of what makes her awesome!"

Robin blushed more at this, then decided to show the boys what she was reading, even though they couldn't understand most of the words.

"Do you know how to read, Sabo?" she looked up and asked.

"U-uh…" Sabo's words were jammed in his mouth, the anxiety coming back to him slightly. "Yeah…" He managed to answer.

Olivia made her way over to Makino putting a hand up to her mouth to hide what she was saying.

"Don't these boys go to school?" The white haired scholar whispered.

"I'm afraid not." The bar-tender gently shook her head. "No one in town even knows about Ace or Sabo."

"How come?" Olivia asked in a shocked state.

Makino gained a sad look on her face before answering. "We already know Ace's reason, but as for Sabo, I'm not sure…"

The ex-archeologist looked back at the children gathered around Robin's book.

Special circumstances or not, a good education is what every growing child needs. These boys may be strong enough to handle wild animals, but handling the world and society was a different thing altogether.

Olivia gave it some thought, then had an idea…

* * *

The next morning, Ace, Sabo and Luffy were once again making their way to Dadan's cabin, ready to meet up with Robin again. Upon pushing past the thick brush of branches in their way, they discovered a strange setting in front of the old shack.

An arrangement of four boxes were set up in a row, while a large board was propped up at the front of them all.

"What the?" Ace questioned aloud.

"What's all this?" Sabo pondered.

Luffy then spotted Robin sitting at one of the boxes, a huge smile on her face.

"Robin, what's going on?" Luffy asked.

Before he got an answer, the sound of a bell ringing from behind the board caught the attention of the boys. Olivia revealed herself from behind the board, shaking a small bell in her hand.

"Good morning, boys! You're just in time!" The ex-archeologist exclaimed.

"Just in time for what?" Ace had a bad feeling about this.

"School!" The white haired teacher declared.

An ill wind past by the three brothers as they absorbed what Olivia had said.

"School…?" Luffy sounded out the foreign word.

"Momma's going to be teaching us all kinds of lessons!" The dark haired girl beamed.

"Like what?" Ace hesitantly spoke. Olivia then listed down some random subjects.

Just a few necessary lessons that will help you later in life," Olivia explained. "I'll even teach you how to read."

Luffy started to scratch his head. "Sounds hard."

"Yeah," Ace folded his arms. "Besides, how much good is that stuff gonna do us in life anyway?"

"You boys may have great strength in your bodies," The waited haired woman explained. "But remember what Robin said the other day. Knowledge is power, power that can be as good as your own strength."

Ace and Luffy were stunned at this. Suddenly, the straw hatted boy sprinted over to the make-shift classroom.

"I get to sit next to Robin!" He declared, earning a blush from the dark haired girl.

"No way! I'm sitting next to her!" Ace yelled when he realized what just happened and ran over too.

As the two boys fought over where to sit next to Robin, Sabo was the only one that didn't move from his spot. The top hatted boy was starting to shake and his eyes were glazing over, as if he was reliving something in his mind. Something horrible…

"Sabo!" Olivia called, bringing the gap-toothed boy back to reality.

"There's one seat left! Would you like to join us?" The ex-archeologist waved him over.

"U-uh…sure…" He reluctantly nodded as he made his way slowly over to the unoccupied crate, the knot in his stomach still present.

* * *

As Olivia started to write on the board, Robin was waiting eagerly to start learning, close to bouncing in her seat in excitement. Luffy had already fallen asleep, Ace had his face on his palms with a bored expression and Sabo sat still in his place, a strong depressed look on his face.

Once the white haired teacher was done writing, she turned back to her class. "Alright class! Whenever we have school in the morning, you have to call me Ms. Olivia."

"YES, MS. OLIVIA!" A large crowd of bandits spoke in unison behind the children, holding their hands up like infants.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!" Ace yelled at the thugs's stupidity.

"How could we not want to sit in class with such a beautiful teacher at the front?" A bandit spoke out, making the rest of his comrades nod their heads in union.

Olivia was stunned at how childish these supposed dangerous criminals could act, while the bar tender could only giggle at the spectacle. The ex-archeologist tried to push away the memory of asking them for help in bringing all of the teaching supplies up the mountain.

Taking Makino's 'advice,' the white haired scholar took a shot at flirting with the bandits to get what she needed. The bandits lugged the boxes and board from the town at night, all the way up the mountain in the minute she batted her eyelashes. Even though Olivia felt mortified by committing such an act, Makino just laughed and patted the ex-archeologist on the shoulder.

Shaking her head back to the matter at hand, she paid no mind to the swarm of bandits and proceeded with the lesson.

"Now then, class. For our first lesson, we will be reading a few pages from a book called 'The Rainbow Mist.'" Olivia showed the book to the children, making the boys groan out loud and Robin smile.

"Luffy," The white haired teacher called out. "Would you like to start us off?"

"Uh…" Luffy stood up automatically and took the book that was offered to him. "Okay?"

Luffy turned the book sideways and upside-down, as if trying to find his place to start.

"T-the…Rain…boat-BOW!" Luffy corrected, causing Ace and Sabo to chuckle under their breaths. The straw hatted boy pouted at this, until the dark haired girl next to him decided to stand up and walk next to him.

"Do you want some help, Luffy?" Robin asked kindly. Luffy nodded in his stupor, surprised by how nice Robin was being. Instead of laughing at him, she chose to help him instead.

As Luffy read the words that Robin sounded out for him, Ace and Sabo began fuming to themselves, jealousy radiating off of them in waves.

"That was very good, Luffy, and it was very nice of you to help him as well, Robin!" Olivia congratulated when the boy was done following Robin's lead.

The lesson went on with the children taking turns in holding the book and reading a few lines, then passing it on to the next one to their side.

* * *

"You've all been doing so well!" Olivia praised her class. "Now, for our final lesson, you will be writing out one of the lines from the book we've read."

With a piece of paper and a quill in front of the children, Olivia gave the book to Luffy, who stuck his tongue out when trying to look at the book and the paper in front of him at the same time.

Unnoticed by the teacher, students and the gang of outlaws behind them, Sabo was starting to shake at the sight of the quill and paper. His eyes darting from the writing utensils, to the other children that were starting to enjoy their class now.

Returning his gaze to his desk, images of dark, angry figures striking him filled his mind, causing his anxiety to escalate higher and higher.

"That's a good try, Ace! You're spelling needs work, but as long as you stick to it, you'll get there in the end!" The freckled boy gave a unsatisfied huff, as Olivia then came in front of Sabo, who looked up at the white haired teacher whilst trying to suppress his nervous state.

"Here you go, Sabo." Olivia chimed. "Just pick a line and try to write it down as best as you can."

After receiving her request, Sabo shakily picked up the quill from the ink pot and inched his hand close to the paper. Ace finally took notice of his friend's state, beginning to grow concerned.

"Wait a minute." Sabo stopped in his movements and looked back at Olivia, seeing the worried look in her eyes.

"Sabo, are you alright? Your hand is shaking." She noticed, causing the top hatted boy to go into a spell of violent hyperventilating. The mental images were now so thick and visible, it was like they were happening right before the gap-toothed boy.

"Sabo?" Olivia reached out to him, which finally caused the boy to freak out, with a petrified shriek.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" The boy wailed as he fell to the ground, spilling ink all over the paper and book on his desk box. The two other brothers were up and out of their seats, Robin following their actions, while the bandits were frozen in place by Sabo's outburst.

"Sabo! What's the matter with you?!" Ace yelled concerned, unable to get a reaction out of the boy, who had curled up into the fetal position and kept breathing deeply at a rapid pace.

All the poor boy could see was the dark figures, showing themselves to be a man dressed in blue with a thick black mustache, a tall woman wearing a fancy dress, each with angry looks on their faces, as they raised their hands and-

Another strangled cry came from the boy, making everyone gathered around him back up from the sudden noise.

Robin had taken up hiding behind Luffy, sacred for whatever was wrong with the top hatted boy. Luffy kept his arm raised in a protective manner for the dark haired girl, but was still concerned for his older brother. "Sabo! Speak to us!"

As Sabo continued to relive his trauma, a voice began to sound out through the cruel memories.

 ** _"SABO! SABO! SABO, SPEAK TO ME!"_**

Ace was currently shaking Sabo by his shirt collar, trying to snap him out of it. Suddenly, the gap-toothed youth came back to reality, whipping his head around to spot any faces that he saw in his vision.

Upon seeing only the concerned faces of his brothers, Robin, Olivia and the bandits, Sabo began to relax, breathing slowly to regain his calm. As he got ahold of himself, questions from nearly everyone present started to be blasted at him from left and right.

"Sabo, what happened?!"

"Are you alright?!"

"Why'd you freak out like that?!"

"I… _I can't do this!"_ Unable to face the bombarding questions, along with the shame of what just occurred, Sabo quickly picked himself up and ran into the forest.

"Sabo!" Luffy called out, but was too late in catching his attention. Everyone stood around without a clue on what to do next.

"Everyone wait here…" Was the only thing that Olivia said, as she made her way through the thick brush of the jungle to go find the boy.

* * *

After a while of trekking through the wild, the white haired teacher came across the sound of silent crying. Upon following the sound and pushing a few branches out of her way, she spotted the sight of the top hatted boy, burying his face in his arms as he curled himself up into a ball by a large tree.

"Sabo?" She gently inquired, alerting boy slightly of her presence.

"Go away…" Sabo weakly moaned as he buried his face deeper in his crossed arms.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Sabo." She went on. "As your teacher, it's my responsibility to see that you are alright."

Sabo didn't say anything back, but only responded with a few sad sniffs. The ex-archeologist knelt down and took a seat next to the boy, waiting patiently for him to come out of his crying.

Once Sabo seemed to be calming down, he looked back at her with a large frown, while she only returned a warm and caring smile.

"Feeling better?" She asked kindly. He gave another sniff and a nod.

"Good." She softly beamed. "Now, can you tell me what's the matter?"

Sabo looked reluctant to say, but the kindness that this woman was showing was so overwhelming that he couldn't help but spill his feelings.

"I didn't want to write…or read…or go to class…" He began. "I know how to do most of that stuff already."

"How so?" Olivia inquired.

Sabo's face screwed up in discomfort before giving his answer.

"I'm…not an orphan like Luffy or Ace. I still have my parents." He confessed.

"Really?" Olivia sounded out her surprise. "Then why aren't you with them?"

"Beacuse…they don't treat me like a son." He painfully continued. Olivia had a bad feeling in her stomach when she heard this.

"My parents are nobles, making me a noble too." Sabo revealed, making the white haired scholar all the more surprised. "But all they care about is making more money, and their reputation." The top hatted boy clenched his fists in brewing anger.

"They'd make me study at home, but the teacher they hired…" Sabo paused, the memories coming back to him painfully.

"It's okay, Sabo." Olivia placed her hand on the boy's shoulder. "You don't have to keep talking about it anymore."

Olivia was more then aware of how cruel and uncaring the nobles of the world could be. Spending their time looking down on people less privileged than them, while at the same time kissing up to anyone with more wealth and power than they have as well.

The worst of them all were the celestials, the highest figures of nobility itself. They were known to be the founders of the world government, the sole reason of the seas having any sense of law and order in the first place.

However, since being given diplomatic immunity by who-knows-who for the creation of justice on the seas, they have done and taken whatever they wanted without any fear or concern, including horrendous acts as murder and slavery.

"Ace was the first friend I ever had," The gap-toothed boy continued. "He showed me how to live free, live my own life! I packed up what I could and ran away from home without looking back…"

He then brought his knees closer to his chest, the feelings of hurt and fear coming back to him. "When you sat us down for school…it all just came back…"

Sabo's eyes shot wide open when he felt the arms of the white haired scholar circle around him, pulling him into a warm embrace and putting her chin on top of his head.

"I am so sorry, Sabo…" The older woman soothed the boy. "If you don't want to come to my school time, then you don't have to. I won't force you."

Sabo looked up at Olivia after she spoke. He had never been allowed to be excused from classes before. He then thought about her offer, tempted to take it and be rid of the horrible memories of his previous education. But then thought about his friends, who were actually enjoying Olivia's school time.

"I'll…I'll come to class…" Sabo hesitantly agreed, making the ex-archeologist give a look of puzzlement. "If the other guys are gonna keep going, then I don't want to be stuck waiting for them…also…you're **_way_** better then my other teachers back home…"

Olivia gave a chuckle at Sabo's words and picked herself up back onto her feet.

"Shall we return to class then?" She asked as she reached her hand out to him.

Sabo looked at the offered palm and, rather uneasily, took it in his own, the woman's gentle grasp covering his own. As the teacher and student made their way back to the others, Sabo wondered if this was what it was like to have a mother that really cared for him…

Robin sure was lucky…

* * *

"Sabo!" Ace called as he, Luffy, Robin and the bandits rushed over to the returning two.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked with great concern.

"Why'd you freak out like that?" Luffy bluntly questioned.

"Guys! Guys!" The top hatted boy raised his hands, motioning for his friends to take it down a notch. "I'm okay! Mrs. Olivia talked to me and helped me to calm down."

"You sure?" Ace put his hand on Sabo's shoulder, showing his support for his bother.

Sabo saw this action and looked back at the freckled boy with affirmation and gratitude. "Yeah…I'm okay."

The sound of clapping brought the attention of everyone gathered back to Olivia. "Alright, that's enough, Sabo doesn't need to be crowded like this!"

Olivia turned back to the top hatted boy. "Now, Sabo, if you don't want to join us for school, you don't have to. I won't force you to do something you're not comfortable with."

Sabo looked back up at the white haired scholar, absorbing her words.

"Let's all get back to class!" Olivia led the children ( and the smitten outlaws) back to the front of the board, wanting to get back on track on what she had planned on doing.

"Now, since two of you have some difficulty with certain things, and two of you don't," The white haired teacher explained, wanting to avoid hurting anyones feelings. "You will be partnered up, with one helping the other."

Once the make-shift teacher explained this, two hands immediately shot into the air.

"I wanna be with Luffy!"

"I wanna be with Robin!"

Both children stared back at one another and quickly looked away to hide they're glowing red faces.

The gang of bandits behind the class couldn't help but 'Awwww!' at the two, Olivia gave a small laugh at the adorable sight and Ace and Sabo dropped their jaws at what they'd just seen and heard.

The freckled older sibling put his head on the desk slightly hard, while the top hatted boy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, showing his care and understanding. Naturally, the two of them partnered up.

The rest of the class went on with the dark haired girl helping Luffy on how to read, while Ace was easily annoyed with how much he was getting words wrong and Sabo having to explain nearly everything to him.

"Alright, children!" The white haired teacher called their attention. "You've all done wonderful today! Since this is something new to you, you can have the day off tomorrow, but the day after, we start class again!"

"Yes, Ms. Olivia!" The children and the smitten bandits unified.

While Olivia once again persuaded the outlaws to stow away the board and box desks, the four young ones stepped away, the three brothers making they're way toward the jungle with Robin seeing them off.

"I don't know about this whole 'school' thing…" Ace pondered aloud.

"I had lots of fun today!" Robin beamed.

"Of course you would!" Sabo said as he looked back.

"Can you believe how bad Luffy is at reading?" the freckled boy brought up with a grin.

"Yeah!" The top hatted boy agreed while sniggering. "Robin had to help him the whole time he made a mistake, which was pretty much on every word!"

It was unfortunately true. The straw hatted boy had screwed up nearly the whole page he was asked to read, with Robin having to correct him every time he got something wrong.

As the two older siblings broke out laughing, Luffy snapped his head back at them. "Shut up, you two!"

"Why are you being so mean to Luffy?!" Robin was fuming with how they were treating their own little brother. "You did just as bad as he did, Ace!"

The freckled boy cringed at the mention of this, remembering all the times he got ticked off with every time he got a word wrong and Sabo had to correct him. Upon hearing the sound of the top hatted boy now laughing at his expense, Ace threw him a dirty scowl, making his brother stop in an instant.

"Come on, Robin!" Ace then turned back to the girl to defend his little brothers ignorance. "You gotta admit, Luffy's the most brain-dead, numb-skull in the entire world! How can you not see that too after today?"

That was something that Robin couldn't let slide, and said three words that no one had ever said or heard before.

 ** _"LUFFY ISN'T STUPID!"_**

A breeze past by as gathered children present as the two elder siblings processed what had just come out of the little girl's mouth. Out of the three of them, Luffy was by far the most surprised.

No one had ever said he wasn't stupid. Not even Makino…

"How…How can you think he's not stupid, Robin?" dared to ask, getting a glare from the girl at the mention of the 'S' word.

"Luffy maybe a bit…slow and…not think things through…," Robin regretfully admitted after she managed to calm herself. "But…He's not as stupid as you say he is! Besides! You're his brothers! You shouldn't say stuff like that about him!"

Guilt then replaced their surprise, the young girl's words sticking them to their core.

Ace and Sabo came out of their surprise to see Robin walking up to the straw hatted boy and take his hands in her own. "I'll never call you stupid, Luffy. You don't deserve to be called names like that."

"T-thanks…" Luffy stuttered. "Thanks, Robin…"

Robin beamed a smile at him, then proceeded to warp her arms around his neck in a hug. Ace and Sabo had dropped their jaws at what was happening before them, while Luffy slowly raised his arms to hug Robin back, still in his state of bewilderment. Soon enough, a small smile crept up on his own face.

"Robin!" Olivia called from across the field. "Time to go home!"

"Coming!" The girl called back, coming out of the embrace with Luffy. She ran across the clearing before turning back to wave at the boys. "See you tomorrow!"

As the boys stood in their places and watched Robin make her way over to her mother, Ace broke the silence with a clearing of his throat. "L-let's get going already! Dinner isn't gonna hunt itself!"

"Sure," Sabo returned as the freckled boy disappeared into the wild. Before stepping in himself, the top hatted boy looked back at Luffy, still stuck in place.

"Luffy, we need to go find dinner! Aren't you hungry?" Sabo attempted to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah…FOOD!" The straw hatted boy snapped out of himself and immediately made a dash for the forest.

Sabo could only shake his head at his little over-exited brother. Looking back at Robin and Olivia as they made their way home, hand in hand. Sabo let out a small sigh, remembering the time he had with the kind hearted woman.

With a sad smile, he made his way into the jungle, to catch up with his brothers.

* * *

"So, Robin, how did you like my school?" Olivia asked as the two made their way home.

"It was the best!" robin chimed happily.

"I'm glad to hear that!" The white haired scholar smiled.

"Yeah!" Robin went on. "It was so nice of you to want to help Luffy and his brothers to read!"

"Everyone needs a good education." Olivia looked down at the dark haired girl. "I'm just sorry you had to learn things that you already know."

"I don't mind." Robin announced. "And I was kind of thinking…"

The mother looked down at her daughter, wondering what she was going to say next.

"Maybe after teaching Luffy and his brothers, you could teach me more about the ponoglyphs after!"

Olivia stopped dead in her tracks, causing Robin to stop along with her. The ex-archeologist was slightly shaking, making the dark haired girl rather nervous.

"Momma…?" Robin hesitantly asked. The next thing to happen, Olivia got down to her knees, took her daughter's shoulders in her hands and like deep into her eyes.

"Robin…" The white haired scholar sternly spoke. "I want to you to forget all about the ponoglyphs!"

Robin's eyes shot wide open at this. "But why?!"

"Going after those accursed things was the worst mistake I ever made!" Olivia nearly yelled, scaring her daughter a little. Seeing the terrified look on her face, the mother calmed herself before continuing.

"I risked far more than I than I realized when I went out searching for them, more than I can live with." She continued. "I don't want you to make the same mistake I did."

She then looked down at the ground, partly ashamed of what she was about to say next. "As far as I'm concerned, the lost history of the world can stay lost!"

Robin was beyond shocked to hear this. Her mother, the woman she looked up to all her life, the person she modeled herself to be, had said something that went against everything that a historian stood for.

It was as if she didn't take pride in her life's work anymore…

"Promise me that you'll forget about the ponoglyphs, Robin. Please!" Olivia seemed to beg.

"…I promise." Robin said in a small voice.

The mother put her forehead to her daughter's as relief filled her body. "It's for the best, Robin. Trust me."

Robin didn't say anything, but didn't completely agree with what her mother was saying. The mother and daughter took each other's hands again and began making there way back home again.

* * *

Ace, Sabo and Luffy were walking through the jungle back to their tree house home, with Luffy walking ahead of the elder two as they watched over him.

They had no reason to fear of any wild animals coming out of no where and attacking them, after all the hunting and much larger creatures they've taken down and eaten, the three brothers had quite the effect on the still living wildlife.

As Luffy was singing some made up song about people on south islands having hotheads and being idiots, Ace leaned over to Sabo and nudged him with his elbow.

"What?" The top hatted boy turned his attention to him.

"I've been thinking…about Luffy and Robin…" The freckled boy brought up.

"Yeah?" Sabo inquired.

"…We never had a chance with Robin, did we?" Ace admitted with a shake of his head.

Sabo wondered what he meant, only for realization to dawn on him and a smile cross his face. "No, I guess not. Although, you _really_ blew any chance you had with her in the first place."

"Shut up…" Ace muttered, not wanting to be reminded of when he yelled at Robin.

"But your'e right," Sabo turned back to the straw hatted boy ,who was now on the second verse of his song. "Luffy makes Robin really happy, and Robin even thinks that Luffy _isn't_ stupid!"

"Yeah! Can you believe that?" The freckled boy was still in awe of such a thing.

"What are you guys talking about?" Luffy called back.

"Uh, nothing, Luffy!" Ace answered, wanting to keep their discussion a secret.

"Come on, tell me!" Luffy demanded, not wanting to let it go.

"It's nothing, Luffy!" Sabo tried to reason. "Let's go find something to eat!"

The straw hatted boy pouted at being left out. "You guys never tell me anything!"

* * *

Days turned into months as the three brothers and the dark haired girl that had become acquainted with them enjoyed their lives of freedom and friendship.

Ace and Sabo began to grow less and less forward to Robin, easing back on trying to get her attention, knowing all too well who she had her eye on. Olivia continued to teach the children at her make-shift school time, proud of the progress that Luffy and Ace in particular were making, with Robin and Sabo helping them along the way. Over time, Robin even gained enough courage to start heading into the forest herself, joining the trio on their madcap hunting trips, blown away time and again with how they were able to take down such enormous and ravenous wildlife.

All the while, the bond between Robin and Luffy grew stronger as time went on, each having a significant effect on the other. Robin became more out going and less withdrawn, as long as Luffy was there to be around, and Luffy learned how to calm down more and even managed to sit still, while Robin was with him of course.

Life couldn't be any better for the four young ones as they relished in their happiness.

Unaware of the looming danger that was heading their way…

* * *

"Saint Jalmack!" A government officer saluted a middle aged man with a thin mustache, wearing a white suit and cloak, along with what appeared to be a strange head piece fashioned on his shoulders with a square-like see through dome going over his head.

"What is it?! Can't you see I'm busy?!" The man mentioned was indeed busy, scarfing down five star cuisine like it was slop from a pig troth. Around him, depressed looking maids and butlers stood along a far stretching table, bowed and waiting for any order the imperial slob wished.

"W-well,sir! The ship is ready and waiting for your arrival!" The officer declared, hoping that the man at the far end of the large dining hall would stop eating and come along already. He wouldn't dare say it out loud though, not if he wanted to keep his head…

"Oh, very well, then!" The reluctant man wiped his food lathered face and got up from his seat, the help standing by springing into action to clean up the table.

"Let's see if the kingdom of Goa is worthy of the Celestials blessing…"


	8. Robin Spreads Her Wings

**_Robin Spreads Her Wings_**

Another day was beginning as the familiar scene of Robin and Olivia walking up the mountain path to Dadan's shack played out as usual. Upon reaching the run-down home, Robin easily spotted the trio of siblings waiting for her, Luffy naturally waving his hands over his head as he made his way over to her, Ace and Sabo following behind. Soon enough, Makino made her appearance to talk to the ex-archeologist to have a short catch-up on the day.

"So, what are we doing today, guys?" Robin asked.

"Well, Robin…" Sabo scratched the back of his head, not able to find a way to gently tell Robin about the activity for the day.

"We're gonna be fighting!" Luffy shouted with glee.

"F-fighting?!" The dark haired girl blanched.

"We fight one another to get stronger and ready for when we become pirates." Ace explained, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

Robin felt extremely uncomfortable at the indication. She never was a fan of violence. Glancing over at Luffy, she could see that he was bouncing in place, actually looking forward to fighting his older, and bigger, brothers.

"Hey, robin!" Luffy interrupted her train of thought. "Why don't you come with us? You can watch as I beat Ace black and blue!"

"Dream on!" Ace bragged. "If you haven't beaten me before, then you never will!"

As the two borhters' argued about who was going to beat who worse, Robin's own appall of getting hurt was getting the best of her, causing her to step back a little, unaware that she was about to bump into the large, elder bandit woman behind her.

"Watch where you're going!" Dadan growled.

"Sorry!" Robin blurted out in her startled state. Dadan took note of how she was acting and decided to ask about it.

"What's got you all shook up?" The bandit woman looked down at the girl.

Robin turned her head back to the boys, still going on about how badly they were going to beat one another. "They said they're going to be fighting today. I don't like fighting…"

Dadan looked between the little dark haired girl and the three ruff-housing siblings before talking to Robin again. "You ever been in a fight before?"

"No…" The girl shook her head. "But I've been hit a lot…It hurts…"

Dadan felt sympathy for Robin, unable to see how anyone would want to hurt someone so sweet and adorable, not that she'd say that out loud of course. With a huff from her cigarette, the bandit woman got down on one knee and placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder.

"Listen, kid…when you're in a fight, weather you're taking a beating or giving one out, it's gonna hurt no matter what." She explained. "Taking a punch hurts, but so does throwing one back. Sometimes, the trick to winning a fight, is taking more punishment than the other guy, and making sure you're the one still standing when the fight's over."

"But that just sounds so…horrible!" Robin spoke in her defense.

Dadan was surprised that such a young girl could know a word like that. Then again, seeing she usually has her nose in a book most of the time, and on account on who her mother is, it can be kind of expected. But looking past the fancy words, she could see the childish minds cape the girl still had, on how bad violence is. No matter how smart she was, Robin was still a child.

"The world can be a cruel place, kid," The bandit woman went on. "When it decides to be mean to you, you either gotta be mean back, or just lie down and take it."

Robin was shocked to hear this, but as much as she didn't want to believe it, Dadan was right. After all, the world had already been quite cruel to her already…

As the girl thought about the upsetting fact, she remembered what her mother said to her after Ace had yelled at her, about how she was stronger than even she knew she was.

Could she be able to fight?

"What's going on over here?" The green haired woman asked as she and Olivia made their way over to the bandit woman and Robin. The siblings came out of they're bickering to see who was talking.

"Luffy and his brothers are going to be fighting today…" The dark haired girl muttered.

"Fighting?!" The white haired scholar gasped.

"Yeah!" Luffy beamed. "And I wanted Robin to come and watch me beat up, Ace!"

"You're not gonna beat me Luffy, and that's a fact!" The freckled boy then tackled his younger bother to the ground, the two rolling around in the dirt to try and pin the other.

"Boys will be boys I suppose…" Makino huffed as she watched the display.

"You're not going to be fighting with them are you, Robin?!" The mother panicked.

"No!" Robin defended whilst waving her hands in front of her. "But…I want to be their to help…if one of them gets hurt…"

Makino smirked to herself, as she guessed who Robin was really worried for. Olivia stared at her daughter, wondering what the best thing to do was. She then gave a sigh, caving in to her daughter's pleading eyes.

"Alright," She relented. "You can go with them. But no fighting!"

Robin beamed with delight at this. "Thanks, Momma!"

The ex-archeologist then marched over to the brothers, as Luffy and Ace stopped they're squabbling. She gathered the three together and looked them in the eye. "Look after my daughter, and see she doesn't get hurt."

"No problem, Ms. Olivia!" Sabo declared.

"We'll keep Robin safe, no matter what!" Ace proclaimed.

"You can count on us!" Luffy announced.

"That's good…" The white haired scholar leaned in closer to the three, wanting to make her next words between her and them.

 _"Because if anything does happen to my little girl, weather it's your fault or not, I will bury you so far away from this island and so deep beneath the earth, it will take even the greatest archeologist's in the world a million years to find your bodies…"_

Each one of the three siblings shared a gulp of fear.

When Olivia brought her face back from the brothers, she had a warm smile on her face, one that hid a chilling aura behind it.

"Have a good time, boys!" She said sweetly. "And try not to be too hard on each other!"

The young siblings gave a nervous nod, when Robin's voice came out of nowhere made them jump. "Are we ready to go?"

As the three shook themselves out of their shock, Luffy then hurriedly grabbed Robin by her hand. "Yeah! Sure! Let's get going!" He pulled her towards the jungle, the girl's face blushing all the way.

The children then disappeared into the thick wild, leaving the adults the only ones in the clearing.

"What did you say to boys before they left?" Makino inquired.

"Oh, just a little something about how fossils are made…" The ex-archeologist answered politely.

* * *

"GUM GUM…" Luffy wound up his clenched fist as he charged at Ace before throwing it forward. "PISTOL!"

As his rubbery arm was launched at the freckled boy, Ace easily managed to step to one side, letting the attack pass by and strike against a tree. The fist then ricocheted back at Luffy, landing square in his face.

"OW!" The boy cried as he fell on his rear. Sabo and Robin were watching to one side sitting on a log, the top hatted boy laughing as he clutched his stomach, while Robin brought her hands up to her mouth to hold in a gasp.

"Why do you even bother with that attack, Luffy?" Ace reprimanded as he stepped toward the boy. "Your Gum Gum powers are useless, no matter what you do with them!"

"Don't make fun of my powers!" The straw hatted boy erupted. "You'll see! My powers are gonna be the most amazing thing ever!"

"Ha!" The freckled boy antagonized. "I'll believe it when I see it!"

"Okay, guys, that's enough!" Sabo leaped off of the log he and Robin were sitting on and walked towards his brothers. "Since Luffy lost that round, It's now me verses Ace!"

"Bring it on!" The freckled boy smashed his fist to his open palm.

Luffy waddled back over to the spectating log, Robin coming off her seat to check up on him. "Are you okay, Luffy?"

"Yeah, I'm alright!" The straw hatted boy chuckled. "Having a rubber body means I don't feel that much pain."

"Well…as long as you're not hurt." The dark haired girl clutched her hands, hoping that the boy was truly all right.

"Don't worry, Robin." Ace piped up as he caught the sight of the two. "Luffy's taken way more damage than that!"

"H-he has?" Robin worriedly inquired.

"Heck yeah!" Ace laughed. "The first time he even met us, he-"

"Sssshhhh!" Sabo ran up to the boy and brought a finger to his lips in an instant, wanting to shush the freckled boy before he said anything more.

"Ace!" He hastily whispered. "I don't think Robin needs to know about that!"

"Know about what?" With all the sudden secrecy, Robin was starting to get worried.

Looking back at the girl, an epiphany made it's way into Ace's mind, realizing that what he was about to tell her would be a big mistake to make. "U-uh, nothing! Nothing at all, Robin! Hahahahahaha!"

But against the older brothers attempt to change the subject, Luffy remembered what they were talking about and decided to open his mouth.

"Oh! You guys are talking about the time you let a pirate and his gang kidnap me and beat me up!"

Silence filled the small clearing in the jungle. Robin had a face of horror, while Ace and Sabo began to sweat.

"I hate you so much right now, Luffy…" The freckled boy mumbled.

"YOU **WHAT?!"** The dark haired girl screeched, charging toward the two boys to confront them.

"W-w-w-wait a minute, Robin!" Sabo threw his hands forward to try and ward off the girl's wrath. "We did save him, just so you know! Once we realized he'd spent the whole day being tortured-"

"YOU LET HIM BE TORTURED FOR A WHOLE DAY?!" Robin was at her wits end at hearing this.

"Not helping, Sabo…!" Ace motioned to his brother.

Robin stayed in place, her hair covering her eyesight and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Soon enough, she lifted her arms up and struck her Hana Hana pose. Feeling a tap on their right, Ace and Sabo looked to their right to find a third arm sprouting out of their shoulder. Caught in a state of shock, they were unable to stop the resounding slap to both of their cheeks.

"OW!" The two rubbed their faces in pain.

"WHY WOULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?!" The dark haired girl was close to tears. "WHAT DID LUFFY DO THAT WAS SO BAD THAT YOU WOULD LET HIM BE KIDNAPPED AND TORTURED?!"

The two older siblings could only rub their cheeks and look at the ground in awkward silence.

"I found out about their treasure…" The straw hatted boy behind her spoke. Robin looked back at the boy with a look of surprise.

"Treasure?" Robin asked bewildered. "What treasure?"

"Luffy!" Ace suddenly shouted. "That's supposed to a secret!"

"Robin's my friend!" The younger sibling erupted, making the two boys flinch. "It's okay if she knows!"

Luffy then turned back to Robin and explained everything. "Ace and Sabo had been stealing treasure from bad guys in the Grey Terminal and hiding it in the jungle, saving it for when they became pirates."

"The Grey Terminal?" Robin wondered.

"Outside of the Goa Kingdom is a giant trash pile that they throw all their garbage and unwanted valuables into." Sabo spoke up.

Over the time that Robin and the brother's had spent time with one another, Sabo had revealed his noble lineage to the girl, who accepted him regardless of where he came from. Both she and Sabo shared the same kind of horrid house life, so they had a strong understanding and great sympathy for one another.

"People scavenge the terminal for anything worth having." The top hatted boy went on. "Most of the gold and jewels that he nobles of the kingdom throw out are instantly picked up by the surrounding gangs of thugs. No one would dare go up against them, not even us."

"The nobles throw away their treasure?!" Robin asked shocked. "But why?!"

"Probably because they get bored of it." Ace piped up disgusted. "Those old fogies are so rich, they've got money to burn…"

"I don't believe it…" The dark haired girl was appalled at such a notion. Throwing away wealth, just because you're rich enough to do so. It was as if the nobles were rubbing in the fact that they were more privileged than regular people by doing this.

Robin shook herself from thinking about the nobles and refocused on the matter at hand. "That still doesn't change the fact that what you did to Luffy was wrong!"

"We know!" Sabo called out, feeling bad enough. "And we're sorry!" He put his hand to his head, the shame becoming too much to bare. "None of this would have happened if we didn't tie him to a tree and try to kill him…"

The moment Sabo let those words slip, it was too late to take them back.

"You…you…you tried to…" Robin felt like she was about to faint.

"I think you've been spending too much time with Luffy, Sabo…" Ace muttered to the top hatted boy, who was stuck dumbfounded.

Once again, Robin struck her Hana Han pose and proceeded to slap the two repeatedly. Never had she been so angry in her whole life. These two boys, who were supposed to be Luffy's brothers, had done the most horrible things to him, worse than anything she had been accustomed to on Ohara!

No one on that island ever tired to kill her, at least not until the world government showed up. All the people on the island did was hate and shun her, and even though Aunt Roji beat her, she would never have the guts to try and kill her.

But these two…Luffy's so called 'brothers'…!

"ROBIN, STOP!" The straw hatted boy cried.

Robin snapped out of her rage, breaking her pose and letting the hands disappear, leaving Ace and Sabo laid out on the ground, their faces covered in searing red hand marks.

"Are you guys okay?!" Luffy panicked as he ran over to the two.

"Yeah…we're okay…" Sabo winced as he picked himself up.

"You were right, Luffy…your girlfriend really is tougher than she looks…" Ace managed to say through the pain.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Luffy defended comically.

"Why…?" The dark haired girl silently seethed. "Why are you helping them?! After everything they've done to you, why would you want to have them as brothers?!"

The older siblings felt a sting of pain go through their chests at these words. Those words hurt worse than the slaps.

Luffy stepped forward to Robin, standing in front of his brothers with a cold glare in his eyes. Robin took a step back at this, never before seeing this side of the boy before.

"L-luffy…?"

"They're all I have!" Luffy shouted, louder than ever before since Robin had met him. The girl leaped back, fear filling her heart as she couldn't tear her eyes away from the fiery glare the straw hatted boy was giving her.

"Grandpa would beat me if I tried to run back to the village! Dadan and her friends are mountain bandits and I hate them! And Makino isn't here to help me! If I didn't have Ace and Sabo, I'd be all alone!" At this point, Luffy was sniffing back tears, while Robin could only gape at what he was saying.

 ** _"BEING ALONE IS WORSE THAN BEING DEAD!"_** The straw hatted boy finished.

An empty silence came over the children, nobody making a move or a sound. After absorbing everything that Luffy had said, she just couldn't take it. Robin broke down crying, turned around and ran away, her wails fading with her as she ran deep into the jungle.

"Robin!" Luffy reached his hand out to her, a vain attempt to bring her back. As soon as her figure was out of sight, the boy hung his head, sadness overwhelming him.

"Luffy?" Ace was still nursing his sore spots as he made his way over to him, Sabo following behind.

"I made Robin cry…" Luffy muttered, droplets of moisture falling from under his straw hat. He looked back at his brothers, showing the misery plain on his features. "I didn't mean to…"

Sabo placed his hand on the weeping boy's shoulder. "We know, Luffy. We know…"

Luffy couldn't hold it in anymore and began to wail loudly into the sky.

He was looking forward to fighting today.

But not like this…

* * *

Robin kept on running, retracing her footsteps after she followed the brothers into the jungle. That was the first time Luffy, her first ever friend, had ever gotten mad at her.

The feeling was dreadful. Worse than whenever she was picked on or glared at back on Ohara. Having someone who cared about you and you them turn around and scream at you was the worst feeling ever.

What she still couldn't understand was why? After everything that Ace and Sabo let happen to Luffy, along with what they tried to do, why would Luffy want to be with them, let alone have them as brothers?

She stopped dead in her tracks when her mind gave her an answer.

The answer was the same reason she clung to Luffy when she first met him. He was the only one decent enough around to be friends with, when everyone else was either too busy or didn't like her at all.

Because he was lonely.

Just like her.

And Just like Ace and Sabo.

What Luffy said to her finally made sense. She wiped the tears from her eyes and immediately turned around, rushing back to where the trio of siblings was hopefully still gathered.

She had to apologize.

* * *

Upon reaching the brothers, she suddenly hid herself behind a large tree trunk, watching as a group of unsavory characters had the boys surrounded and down on the ground.

Two figures stuck out amount the men. One; a grotesque looking man with a giant pot-belly sticking out of a dirty white button shirt, a bald head with long, unruly hair protruding out of the back and sides of his head, and a toothless grin smeared across his face.

The other, a smart looking man wearing a dark blue petty coat, buckled shoes, socks going up to his knees, with a dark blue top hat on top of his head, long black hair with a matching mustache and a small beard on his chin, with a bored and unimpressed expression on his face as he looked down at the three young ones.

Robin did not get a good vibe off of either one of them.

To prove her point, the ugly bald man smashed his fist against Ace's head, spilling his blood out of the newly open wound which splattered against the well dressed man's cheek.

The man in the top hat then pulled out a handkerchief, complaining about the ugly man, who he addressed as 'Bluejam', getting 'commoners blood' on him, saying that he'll have to disinfect himself when he gets home.

Bluejam apologized to the rich looking man, doing what could only be described as a bad impression of acting fancy and royal. The rich man turns back to the boys and addressed Sabo, telling him that it was time to come home.

Robin guessed that this man was Sabo's father, the man who had a hand in making his home life a living nightmare.

Ace and Luffy defended their brother, yelling at the rich man that Sabo doesn't want to go with him. Sabo's father ignored them and gave Sabo a choice; watch as Bluejay and his crew kills his friends in front of him, or come home now and spare their lives, promising to never leave the kingdom again.

Robin blanched at hearing this, nearly letting out a noise in protest to the ultimatum that would have given her away. With a heavy heart, she stayed in her hiding place and watched the spectacle run its course.

With no other alternative, Sabo caved in and agreed to come home with his father, against Ace and Luffy's defiance. The top hatted boy got up on his feet and followed his father home through the jungle, sobbing all the way as Ace called out to him and Luffy silently cried at the loss of one of his brothers.

Robin brought her hands up to her face, keeping her own sounds of heartache from being heard as she wept for the boy who was forced to be a noble once more.

As soon as the father and son had disappeared out of sight, Bluejam ordered his men to grab the two boys left and take them back to their hideout. Ace and Luffy tried to fight them off, but there was too many of them.

All Robin could do was follow the two captured brothers and prey for their safety.

* * *

"Why'd you bring us here?!" Ace bellowed as he and Luffy were surrounded by Bluejam and his gang, all of them sitting around the inside of a broken up shipwreck, Bluejam's old ship without a doubt. As the two boys were standing in the middle of the group of thugs, Robin was hiding and watching behind a large crate from afar.

"Now, now! No need to be so rash!" The hideous man chided gently, attempting to clam the boys to a failed degree. "I can understand it's been a rough day for you two, having one of your best friends turn their back on you to live a cushy life in the kingdom!"

"Sabo didn't turn his back on us!" Luffy dared to shout. "He hates being a noble!"

"Ha! That's a laugh!" The run down pirate sneered. "If I had the chance to live like the rest of those lucky jerks behind that wall, I'd take it in a heartbeat! Anyone would! I bet the only reason he hung out with you in the first place was because he felt sorry for you!"

"You take that back!" The freckled boy rushed forward before having a large, rusty blade pointing at him right between the eyes.

"In any case…" The vicious bum seethed as he withdrew his sword. "We still need you boys to do a little job for us. You help us with this, you're free to go. We'll even split that treasure we found with you; fifty-fifty!"

"That treasure was ours in the first place!" Luffy shouted.

"Not anymore it's not!" Bluejam roared as he stood from his seat, easily towering over the two brothers.

"Bring out the crates!" The ex-pirate ordered his men. When the cronies came back, they brought with them a load of large wooden crates with red flags sticking out of one of their corners.

Robin's face turned white at the sight of them. She had read about these kind of crates before. Those boxes were filled to the brim with gunpowder and oil. Used in warfare, the boxes are used to cause a distraction and wide spread damage. The red flags acted as markers,signifying their placement on a designated location to be placed.

But what would these pirates want to do with a weapon like this?

"All you have to do is help us place these boxes around the jungle at these locations." Bluejam pulled out a map of the jungle and pointed at a few tiny red flags littered across the paper. "After you do that, you're free to go!" Bluejam smiled a toothless grin.

Robin had guessed right. The map was proof that those boxes were exactly what she thought they were. But that still didn't answer her question; why did these pirates want to burn the jungle down?

If only she could stop Ace and Luffy and tell them what they were doing…!

"And what if we say 'no'?" Ace growled, giving the much larger man a death-filled glare.

Bluejam pulled his sword back out and pointed it at both him and the straw hatted boy next to him. "You boys may be good at fighting off street thugs and wild animals, but we're pirates! We kill who ever we want, whenever we want! Sometimes, for the sheer fun of it!"

The bum had a point. Ace, Luffy and Sabo could take a bunch of cowards hiding down dark allies and the wildlife in the jungle, but these guys we're defiantly out of their league, even if they were a bunch of losers.

The down and out outlaw put his sword back in its sheath, replacing his sneer with a fake friendly grin. "Now that we've gotten all the ugly stuff out of the way, what's say we get to work?"

Ace and Luffy were forced to carry all the boxes over the top of their heads. Even though they were both monstrously strong and it was a breeze to carry them, it was still quite cruel of the adults to make the children do all the labour.

Robin was in a slight panic of what to do next. Running back to her mother and the others would take to long, long enough for the pirates to set aflame to what ever they planned to burn, plus she couldn't leave Luffy and Ace to Bluejam's hands.

The dark haired girl watched as the two brothers were lead away by the gang, fear and helplessness running through her. Idea after idea ran through her mind, clouding her head and making her more desperate and tears begin to prickle at her eyes.

 _"The world can be a cruel place, kid. When it decides to be mean to you, you either gotta be mean back, or just lie down and take it."_

Dadan's words silenced anything else that came into the girl's mind.

The old bandit woman was right. Here was the world deciding to get mean and hurt Robin, and worst of all her friends. Was she going to do what she used to do back on Ohara? Run away to somewhere she can be alone and cry the problem away?

No.

Now it was her turn to get mean. It was time to stand up and give the world a taste of what it's dishing out. She was going to save Luffy and Ace, no matter what!

Robin followed the gang of pirates and the captured brothers, with new found courage lighting her path.

* * *

"I miss Sabo…" Luffy whined, agitating not only Ace, but the pirates guiding them along their path.

"I miss him too, Luffy, but what's done is done!" The freckled boy gently whispered, distancing himself from his emotions as he does whenever things get too much.

Looking back at his little brother, he decided to try and cheer him up with some made up story. "Besides, Sabo deserves better than to be with the likes of us. Now that he's behind the wall again, maybe his life will be better. Maybe his Dad started to miss him and will treat him better now that he knows what life is like without him."

"But I miss him…!" Luffy moaned once more.

"One more word and I'll smack you myself!" one of Bluejam's cronies threatened with a motion of his backhand.

Ace would have ripped the man's throat out if it was just him, but knew that doing so would bring the rest of the gang down on him and his little brother. Ace didn't care what happened to him…but if anything happened to Luffy…

"Place that one here!" Bluejam ordered, snapping Ace out of his thoughts. The freckled boy laid one of the flagged boxes down before being shoved by one of the pirates to keep moving.

Once the gang was out of sight, Robin came out from behind one of the many large tree trunks and made her way over to the large wooden crate. Taking in the size of the object and calculating how heavy it might be, Robin knew that lifting this thing would be impossible for her.

She'd need an extra pair of hands, or twenty…

Going into her Hana Hana pose, Robin protruded multiple hands to sprout out from under the crate and lift it in the air. Wincing a little at the amount of weight her hands were holding, Robin did her best to stay strong, managing to walk along with a series of conveying hands pluming out of the ground, one batch of hands having the crate to the next.

Robin deduced that she and the crate were close to the outer rim of Dawn Island itself, from all the maps she had seen and memorized. Coming from out of the jungle, a cliff viewing out to the wide open sea appeared. With a few more straining heaves, Robin managed to throw the crate into the ocean, watching it sink into the dark depths, completely out of sight.

Robin wiped her brow and gave a victorious smile, only to remember that there were plenty more crates where that came from. Running back into the wild, Robin hoped to catch up to the group and repeat her actions, until every last crate was gone.

She still didn't understand. Why would Bluejam and his crew want to burn down the forest anyway? it just didn't make any sense!

* * *

 ** _The nobles were out of their minds!_**

Sabo ran through the whole city, gasping for breath and desperation at the same time.

Things hadn't changed a bit since the last time Sabo had been home. Once being brought back to the kingdom, the top hatted boy was forced to make a statement to the local police department, where his father, known as Outlook III, ordered him to say that he was being held captive by Luffy and Ace against his own will. Sabo ,being the loyal and honorable friend he was, denied the statement, earning him a hard strike from his own father, who then proceeded to pay the officer off to let him back into the kingdom.

Upon returning home, Sabo found out that in his absence, his parents had adopted another boy, a snot nosed brat by the name of Shelly, who they seemed to cherish more than him. Sabo had been neglected by his parents before, but this just felt like the lowest blow they had ever felt him. Over the time spent with the female looking boy, Sabo disliked him more and more; everything that came out of his mouth was snide, rude, spiteful and arrogant, Just like his parents. Just like what they wanted him to be…

But that wasn't the worst part. The absolute worst was yet to come…

Alone in his room, Sabo was visited by his 'brother' who had the guts to start poking fun at his 'riff-raff' friends. Naturally, Sabo leaped onto Shelly and proceeded to pound his face till it was covered in black bruises. The adopted boy was singing a much more pathetic tune after that, but what he said next made Sabo turn pale.

The boy sneered as he relented the kingdom's plan to burn down the Grey Terminal, along with any unfortunate soul still routing around in the giant junkyard, just to make the kingdom look presentable for a visit from the Celestials.

Hundreds of lives…an entire forest…burned down… Along with-

Sabo had no time to finish that horrific thought as he bolted out of the house, Shelly's laughter echoing behind him.

Sabo ran into anyone and everyone he could find, telling them of the kingdom's devious plan. The reaction he got from every noble citizen he came across destroyed his hope, piece by piece, as they said they already knew and were looking forward to it.

It was now late at night as Sabo continued to run through the city, close to losing his mind at how cruel and evil this whole kingdom was.

Coming across a squad of police officers, he told them about the kingdom's plan as well, desperate for anyone to help. Unfortunately, all he got was the same response that he had been getting from everyone all day, the officers laughing him off and telling him to go back inside.

Finally losing all rational thought, Sabo ran for the kingdom's main gate,pounding at the large frames with all his might, until he was pulled away and thrown to the ground by the officers themselves.

Before blacking out from the sudden beating at the hands of the police, the last thing Sabo thought of was his two brothers, his real brothers, the dark haired girl that came into there lives and all the adventures they had together.

And then everything went black.

* * *

Olivia was pacing back and forth, growing more anxious with every minute that her daughter wasn't back by.

"Where are they?" The mother fretted.

"They should have been back by now…" Makino worried as she looked out into the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of any of the children.

Off to the side, Dadan was taking a large swig of her liquor, watching the two women worry for the young ones. Along side her were her gang of cronies, who were making as much of a fuss as the bar-tender and mother.

"I hope they're all right…" One of the bandit lady's cronies voiced out. Dadan tried to ignore him.

"What if something happened to them?" another spoke up. The orange haired woman shut her eyes and did her best to block out the conversation mentally.

"If something did and Garp found out…" Another bandit exclaimed in fright.

That was the last straw for the bandit leader. She slammed her liquor on the ground, startling her men and catching the attention of the two women away from the shack.

"Is that all you're belly-aching about?!" The red-headed woman bellowed. "'What if Garp finds out?!'" She then proceeded to spit on the ground, as if the notion had put a bad taste in her mouth.

Dadan then raised herself from her seating position and glared daggers at her men. "If you're so worried about saving your own skin, then we might as well go in there and start looking for those brats!"

Even though Dadan was saying all of this, her henchmen could see through her words and began to tear up. She cared about the kids just as much as they did, even though she didn't want to show it.

"OH, BOSS~!" The men chorused with tears in their eyes.

"Quit looking at me like that! You'll give me nightmares!" The bandit leader roared.

"I'm coming with you!" Olivia spoke as she marched over to the redhead.

"You sure?" Dadan queried. "The jungle is dangerous enough sure in the day, but down-right deadly at night."

"The last time my daughter was in danger, I did nothing…" The ashamed mother lowered her head before shooting it back up again. "I won't fail her again!"

"I'm coming too!" Makino piped up.

Dadan grimaced about bringing the two, but seeing the pleading determination in their eyes let her know that they were not backing down without a fight.

"…Alright, fine!" The bandit leader huffed weakly. "Just stay close to me and keep your eyes peeled; for the kids **_and_** any wild animals."

The two women nodded their heads and the search party made there way into the dense dark wilderness.

* * *

Luffy and Ace finally had a chance to take a break as they sat on the ground after placing the last box in another strange location in the jungle. Currently, the two boys and Bluejam's gang were on the outskirts of the Grey Terminal, the giant junkyard that the nobles made thanks to their wasteful ways.

"Well done, boys!" Bluejam praised the two brothers as they caught their breath. "You did as you were told and were very well behaved!"

"Gee, thanks!" Ace snidely remarked. " **Now** will you let us go?"

"Of course, of course!" The ex-pirate waved them off, before a sickening smile spread across his face. "But before you go, I want to show you boys the results of your hard work…"

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked, a knot beginning to form in his stomach.

"You'll see…" The down and out pirate chuckled as he pulled out a fancy gold pocket watch, something far too valuable to be in the hands of the likes of him.

"3…2…1…!"

* * *

"I think that's the last of them…!" Robin gasped as she wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

All through the day, she had been tailing behind Luffy, Ace and the vicious gang of ex-pirates. Where ever the two boys were told to place one of the large wooden boxes, Robin waited for the coast to be clear, before sneaking up to the crate and using her powers to conveyer it over a cliff into the ocean, throwing it into a pit of quicksand and letting it sink to the bottom of thick pool of swamp water.

Robin had no idea what those men had in mind with those crates, but she knew it wouldn't be good for anyone caught in their detonation.

"Now to go find Luffy and Ace!" As Robin began to run toward the groups last location, a massive explosion erupted from the deep lake she had plopped the last box into, with a geyser of water shooting up high above the trees.

Numerous more explosions sounded off across the jungle, muffled by the layers of dirt and moister they were buried under. The explosions were so great, they shook the ground beneath Robin's own feet, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

Once the explosions stopped along with the shaking ground, Robin pulled herself up and looked back at the small lake, which was now steaming from the recently released heat from the crate.

"That was too close…"

* * *

"ROBIN~!" Olivia called out into the jungle, keeping an ear out for any sound for her daughter.

"Quit shouting like that!" Dadan bellowed herself. "Who knows what you might attract out here!"

She, Olivia, Makino and the Dadan bandits were scuffling through the brush, searching for the lost boys and young girl, when all of a sudden a loud boom sounded off from a sandpit a fair distance away, spraying its mud across the surrounding area.

The search party took cover behind trees and shielded their faces from the raining dirt, before the onslaught finally stopped.

"My…goodness!" The bar-tender gasped as she came from her hiding place.

"What could have caused that?!" One of the bandits asked out loud.

Olivia came out of her shock and focused on what mattered most to her. "We have to find the children…ROBIN~!"

* * *

Sabo was awaken by what could have been the sound of thunder. As he pushed himself up from where he lay, he realized that he was down a dark alley of the city. After the police had beat him to uncontioustess, they must have tossed him into the pile of garbage where he had been laying in.

As his brain began to catch up with him, he then froze as the once forgotten fear spread through his system.

The explosions?

The nobles plan?

Grey Terminal?

He was too late.

He couldn't do anything.

Ace…

Luffy…

Robin…

He'd failed them.

He'd lost them!

They were gone! Along with who knows how many innocent lives were in the junk pile outside the kingdom!

Tears began to well up in the boy's eyes, the anguish and sorrow overflowing his senses.

As he lifted his up to the sky to cry out his pain, he noticed something. The sky was clear, the stars shining bright in a blanket of blue.

Sabo got to his feet as he began to think. The nobles plan was to burn down the Grey Terminal to make the kingdom look 'presentable' for the Celestials. That would mean that they would have to set the place on fire.

But there was no fire, no smoke in the sky, nothing but the night sky and the stars.

That could only mean one thing.

Grey Terminal wasn't on fire…

Grey Terminal was still there!

* * *

 **"WHY ISN'T THAT INFERNAL SCRAPYARD BURNING?!"** The voice of a deeply upset old man roared as he slammed his fist on the arm of his chair, making his balanced glass of wine rock and fall to the floor.

"I-I do not know, your highness!" A butler stuttered whilst standing beside a window with the curtain drawn, looking out over the kingdom and far over the city's wall to the terminal.

"BLUEJAM, YOU FOOL!" The king of Goa thundered as he continued to pound the arm of his seat. "How could someone as stupid as you… **SCREW UP A PLAN AS SIMPLE AS THIS?!"**

Bluejam was stunned. He heard the explosions, he placed the boxes where they had to be, so why was nothing burning?

"W-what's going on, boss?" One of his men asked from behind him.

"Shut up!" He snapped as he began to pace back and forth, looking out into the distance for any sort of sign of a fire. Smoke, a red glow, anything!

"What were those loud booms just now?" Luffy spoke up, which only caused the toothless ex-pirate to look back at the two boys slowly, a look of pure rage building on his face. Ace took notice of this and sprang to his feet.

"What's up with you?!" The freckled boy struck a pose of keeping a hand toward Luffy in an effort to protect him and one clutch into a fist for defense.

"What did you do…?" The balding man whispered darkly as he slowly strode over to the two brothers, pulling out his sword as he moved.

"W-what are you talking about?!" The straw-hatted boy fearfully asked, only to have one of Bluejam's men grab him from behind and hoist him off his feet.

"Luffy!" Ace shouted, but before he could do anything, he was then restrained himself by another one of the thugs. As the two boys struggled, Bluejam stopped in front of the boys and hollered at the top his lungs as he pointed his sword towards them.

 **"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"**

"Like we said!" Ace shouted as he struggled. "What are you talking about?!"

"Grey Terminal is supposed to be in flames right now!" Bluejam revealed angrily, causing the two boys to stop and look at the man in horror.

"That's what those boxes were for…?" Ace was nearly as white as a sheet.

"You mean we would have helped you…burn down Grey Terminal?" Luffy fearfully said out loud, horrified at the idea.

"You did something!" The ex-pirate deduced as he slammed the back of his sword's handle across the straw-hatted boy's face.

"Leave him alone!" Ace barked as he went back to struggling.

"You did something to the boxes when we weren't looking, didn't you?!" Bluejam then walked over and struck Ace.

"You had your eyes on us all day…!" The freckled boy ground out.

"And we just put the boxes where you told us too!" Luffy blubbered as tears began to build up in his eyes.

"SHUT UP!" Bluejam thundered as he began to pace back and forth, the anger seething within him. "You've ruined everything! Now the king will never let me and my crew into the city! We're never getting out of this pigsty!"

"The king?" Ace asked, wanting to know what in the world was going on.

"Tell me right now!" Bluejam was in front of Ace in an instant, his sword pressed hard against his throat.

"ACE!" Luffy wailed helplessly.

"I know you did something so don't lie to me if you value your life!" The ex-pirate bellowed as he got up close to Ace's face. **_"TELL ME WHAT YOU DID?!"_**

"They didn't do anything!" A voice came from behind the group as they all turned back. A small, dark haired girl came from out of a cluster of bushes and walked out in front of the men and brothers. "It was me."

"Robin?" Luffy gasped.

"What are you doing, Robin?!" Ace shouted in new found desperation. "Run for it!"

"You?!" Bluejam pulled his sword away from Ace and walked over to the young girl. "You messed up the plan?!"

 ** _"That's right!"_** Robin stated defiantly. **_"I got rid of the blast crates you made Luffy and Ace carry and place around the jungle, and stopped you from hurting innocent people and burning down my home!"_**


	9. The 'ASL' Without the 'S'

**_The A,S,L, Without the 'S'_**

Sabo continued to look up at the starry night sky, without a cloud to be seen. He couldn't understand it. He felt the shake of explosions only a minute ago, so how come there was no smoke in the sky, or even screaming in the distance?

"Young man?" A gravely voice spoke behind the gap-toothed boy, making him switch his head back in an instant. Standing at the end of the alleyway was a shadowed figure, wearing a dark green cloak obstructing his identity and keeping his face hidden.

"What are you doing in a place like this?" The stranger asked.

Sabo looked at the newcomer, then felt anger boil up in his body.

"What's it to you?" He spat as he managed to walk out of the dirty dead end, noticing he now had a limp in his step thanks to the police roughing him up.

"I was merely wondering why a noble child such as yourself would be wallowing in trash at this time of night…" The cloaked figure explained himself, appearing unfazed by the boy's tone.

"Well, not that it's any of your business, or that you'd even care," Sabo's speech turned to full blown yelling. "But I was trying to pry the front gates open so I could stop the nobles from burning down the Grey Terminal outside!"

"The nobles were going to…?" The stranger whispered, seeming to be surprised by this information, but Sabo was not in the mood of caring how he felt as he continued his rant.

"The police stopped me and beat me till I past out and threw me down that dark alley!" The gap-toothed boy clenched his fists as the rage overtook his senses.

"But, why would you want to stop what was happening? Surely a boy of nobility such as yourself wouldn't think about the sake of common folk?" The figure pointed out. That was the last straw for Sabo's anger.

 ** _"I WISH I WAS NEVER BORN A NOBLE!"_**

The man was beside himself with shock. Never had a noble, a **child** noble at that, had ever said something so unheard of.

He was brought out of his shock when he noticed the blonde boy walking away from him, his hat shadowing his eyes. "W-wait! Young man! Where are you going?!"

Sabo stopped and without looking back, answered his question. "It's great that Grey Terminal wasn't burned down, but I won't be able to go back, even if it was saved…My family is awful and won't let me run away again, and even if I did, my brother's may never want to talk to me again after I betrayed them. Not to mention, if my father caught up to us again, he might actually have them…" He didn't dare finish.

He looked up from under his hat and looked out towards himself, with a steely gaze of determination. "There's only one place left where I can be free…"

Sabo then began walking forwards once more, leaving the cloaked man behind to watch him march toward his fate.

* * *

Robin remained standing straight, staring the seething down-and-out pirate before her. Ace and Luffy were still trying to break away from their holders with all their might, but to no avail.

Bluejam was so furious, he almost didn't think before opening his mouth again. "T-that's impossible! How could a little girl like you get rid of a haul of boxes in such little time?!"

"Like this!" The dark haired girl announced as she swept her hand out and two small arms sprouted out of the man's head and grabbed hold of his eyelids and pulled them as high as she could.

As the captain cried out in pain, two simultaneous hands bloomed on top of Luffy and Ace's captors heads and proceeded to reach down and hook their fingers in their nostrils, pulling as hard as she did with Bluejam, making them drop the two brothers.

"RUN!" The girl shouted as she and the boys broke out into a sprint, but not before getting scooped up by the still remaining crooks surrounding them.

Once Robin was caught, she panicked and lost her focus, making the hands she created disappear and releasing the distracted men.

If Bluejam was furious before, he was livid now. He pulled his rusty blade from its sheath and held it out to the captured young ones, eyeing Robin especially.

 ** _"You…little…brat…!"_** The wild eyed bum hissed out. **_"You've ruined…everything!"_**

Luffy caught on to who the man was looking at and began to thrash around like never before. **"ROBIN! NO! RUN! USE YOUR POWERS TO GET AWAY! SOMETHING! ANYTHING!"**

Robin was too stunned in fear at the approaching man coming her way, her boost of bravery leaving her to what could possibly be her demise.

 **"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER, YOU TOOTHLESS COWARD!"** Ace roared as he began to struggle harder then before himself, even giving his captor a hard time holding him.

Tears started to prick at the girl's eyes as she could only stare at the blade-wielding brute stalking closer to her.

Luffy couldn't take watching any longer and followed his instincts; he bit down hard on his holders arm around his waist, who instantly let go to nurse his injured skin, as Luffy fell to his feet and made a beeline to stand in front of Robin and hold his arms out in protection. **"I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER!"**

"Luffy?" Robin snapped out of her fear as she saw the boy defend her from Bluejay's advances.

"Like you can stop me…" The man growled as he brought his sword back into a stabbing motion. **_"I'll run you and your little girlfriend through!"_**

At those words, something in Ace snapped.

 ** _"LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!"_**

One moment, all of Bluejam's crew was on their feet and wide awake. The next, they were out on the ground, passed out and with foam coming from a few of their mouths. After Ace had given his cry, the man holding him had lost all power in his arms and let go of him as he fell to the ground, along with the thug that had grabbed Robin.

The three children stood in their places in bewilderment, looking around at the unconscious crooks splayed out in front of them, until the last one standing of the gang, Bluejam, slammed Ace in the back of his head with the scabbard of his sword.

 **"NOW WHAT DID YOU DO?!"** He thundered.

Ace nursed the back of his head as Luffy and Robin ran over to him, falling to their knees in worry before looking up at the beyond angry ex-pirate.

The man lifted his sword high above his head, ready to bring it down on the helpless young ones in one fell swoop.

 ** _"You're all a bunch of freaks…!"_**

Ace shielded Luffy and Robin with is body, whilst Luffy and Robin clung to each other with their eyes closed tight, waiting for the sword to come down.

Before Bluejam could gain his satisfaction, a large wooden club smashed across his face, sending him to the ground and falling into the dirt.

As the balding brute pushed himself from where he lay, he looked back up, ready to give whoever stopped him what he was going to give the kids. Only to stop in his movements when he caught sight of who it was that had attacked him.

"Dadan?!"

The large, orange haired bandit leader herself stood before the downed bum, patting her club in one hand, while all her men stood behind her, brandishing their own weapons and looking ready for a fight.

"Hello, Bluejam," Was the last thing the ex-pirate heard as she and her men came upon the down-and-out pirate and began to beat him into submission.

The young trio could only watch as the bandits bludgeoned Bluejam to a pulp, before immediately getting wrapped in a multitude of arms out of nowhere.

"Robin!" The mother cried as she clung to her daughter desperately.

"Momma?!" Robin gasped as the white haired woman pulled her face back to look at her.

"Thank heavens you're alright!" The woman weeped, as her little girl realized who it was before burying her face into her shoulder to cry her eyes out.

"Ace! Luffy!" The green haired woman squeezed her boys tightly, never wanting to let them go. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, we're good!" Ace said, acting as if what had just happened never did.

"I was so scared, Makino! I thought we were gonna die!" Luffy wailed as tears and snot leaked from his face.

"Stop crying, Luffy! It's not manly!" Ace ordered, only making the boy cry harder. The bar-tender sighed happily, glad that her boys were still as rambunctious as ever.

After giving them another strong hug, Makino leaned back and placed her hands on both their shoulders. "What happened here?"

"What are you doing all the way out here?" The bar-tender fretted as she pulled away.

"Why are you with these men?!" Olivia asked in a panicked tone.

"It's a long story…" Ace breathed out as he began to relax from the danger he and the younger ones were in.

* * *

After the beating was over, the band of crooks were tied to a tree, all of them still unconscious from whatever Ace had pulled, along with an out cold, black and blue Bluejam.

"They were going to burn down the junkyard?!" Makino brought her hands to her mouth in horror.

"And made you carry that cargo without you knowing what it was?!" The white haired mother seethed at the criminals actions.

"Pretty much…" Ace mumbled as he looked over at the battered and bruised bum that had him and his little brother at blade point. Oh, how he wished he could have gotten a shot in himself!

"Poor Sabo…" The bar tender then brought up. "I can't believe he did that for you."

"We gotta get him back!" Luffy demanded desperately.

"We can't do that, Luffy! Sabo doesn't belong with the likes of us!" Ace spoke up next, yet his words lacked any resolution behind them. "He'll be happier back at home with his family…his real family…"

 ** _"That's a lie and you know it!"_** Robin bellowed.

Everyone was frozen in place from the little girl's outburst, Ace and Luffy most of all.

"Sabo could never be happy if he lived with his parents!" Robin continued to shout. "He ran away from home for a reason in the first place, didn't he?! He didn't go home for his own good, he sacrificed himself for you!"

"You saw that?!" Ace questioned in surprise.

"I came back to say sorry for beating you up, until I saw those pirates and Sabo's dad, so I hid behind a tree." Robin admitted.

Luffy couldn't help but smile as he walked over and took the dark haired girl's hand in his own, bringing her attention to him.

"Thanks for coming back, Robin." He beamed.

The young book lover smiled warmly at the straw hatted boy and blushed at the contact between their hands.

"Wait…" Ace mumbled, drawing everyone back to him. "I just remembered something, something that Bluejam said before you arrived to save us…Bluejam said that the king wasn't going to let them into the kingdom…"

"Did the king hire Bluejam and his crew to burn down the terminal?" Olivia deduced.

"Hmph!" Dadan huffed as she crossed her arms in disgust. "And people say bandits are bad. The nobles just keep proving their even worse than us, and they **still** have the nerve to stick their noses up at us!"

"Why would the nobles want to burn down this junkyard?!" Making asked in horrified curiosity. "Don't they know that there are people living here?!"

"You ever known a noble to care about what happens to people that are **_beneath_** their form of living?" Dadan inquired darkly, making the notion all too clear for the innocent bar tender.

As the green haired woman bowed her head in uncomfortable understanding, Olivia was next to speak up. "No wonder that poor boy ran away…"

"We've gotta get him back!" Luffy announced determinedly.

"Darn right, we do!" Ace agreed. "We'll break in to the city and look all over for-"

"No!" Makino put a stop to the boy's plans. "After everything you've been through already, I will not let you go charging off into more danger!"

"You too, Robin!" Olivia spoke up, taking motherly authority.

"But Momma!" Robin pleaded. "What about Sabo?!"

"Garp should be coming back to the island soon after visiting Ohara," Makino explained. "as soon as he does, we'll tell him about what's been going on here and have him take care of it. He can even find Sabo and look after him too."

"That'll take too long!" Ace seethed, anger boiling up inside him.

"Ace, please…!" The bar tender reached out to him, only for him to flinch back, away from her hand.

"Screw this!" The freckled boy spat as he began stomping in the direction of the walled off kingdom. "I let Sabo go once, I'm not gonna abandon him now!"

"Me too!" Luffy declared as he and Ace proceeded to break off into a sprint toward the city.

"ACE! LUFFY!" Makino called out to them, only for her calls to fall on deaf ears.

"It's no use." The orange haired bandit leader spoke up as she walked over to the bar tender. "You of all people should know how stubborn those boys get when an idea pops into their heads. If we go after them, we'd only get in their way and make things worse."

Makino wanted to go after them, regardless of Dadan's words, but had to reluctantly admit that the large woman was right.

"All we can do now is go back and wait for them." Dadan and her boys began to head back through the jungle to return to their run down shack of a home. Makino had no choice but to follow them, whilst Olivia took up the rear of the group, but not with her daughter beside her.

She turned back to see Robin staring off at where the two brothers had run off to and felt a deep pit in her stomach of what might be going through the young girl's mind.

"Robin…?" The ex-archeologist hesitantly reached out to her.

"I'm sorry, Momma," Robin spoke before she turned back to her mother. "But I can't leave Luffy and his brothers behind!"

"Robin, don't!" The white haired woman tried to stop her, with pleading thick in her voice.

"I'll be back soon!" was the last thing Robin said before sprinting off to follow Luffy and Ace.

"ROBIN!" Olivia called out to her desperately, only to watch her run off into the darkness.

Her mother's intuition was split in half. Part of her wanted to run after her and drag her back home to safety, while the other wanted to support her and let her help her new friends.

The internal struggle within her made her body freeze in place, making her watch her daughter disappear.

* * *

 ** _"Are you kidding me?!"_** Ace yelled as he and Luffy were stopped by a mess of boulders and cement, blocking up what used to be their only path way into Goa kingdom.

"Now what do we do?" Luffy panicked. "How are we supposed to get in now?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking…!" The freckled boy growled rubbing a hand through his hair frustratedly.

Suddenly, a series of hands began to bloom out of the wall in front of them, trailing all the way up the vertical surface to the very top of the wall.

"Need a hand?" The young female voice drew the boys to turn their heads back to see the dark haired girl.

"Robin!" Luffy chirped happily.

"We thought you went back with your mom!" Ace was just as surprised as his little brother.

"I ran after you before Momma could stop me…" Robin sadly said, not looking forward to when she'd see her again. She shook her head out of what was to come and focused on the now. "I'm not gonna leave you on your own to find Sabo! Your'e my friends!"

Surprised by the girl's words, smiles broke out on the boys faces.

"Thanks, Robin." Luffy showed his large toothy grin.

"We could use all the help we can get!" Ace gave her a thumbs up, showing his gratitude.

Robin beamed at the praise, feeling happier than ever before that she now had true friends to call her own.

After the pleasantries were dealt with, each of the three young ones took turns climbing up the ladder of limbs to the top of the wall, where they saw the beautiful sight of the Goa kingdom at night, lit up with sparkling lights as if they were having a festival.

"It's so pretty…" Robin stood in awe of the sight.

"Too bad about the people who live in it…" Ace pointed out with disgust.

Once all three of them were at the top of the wall, Robin made another ladder for them to climb back down to. They landed down a dark alley, hiding them from the sight of any noble of police officer.

"So, where does Sabo live?" Robin asked, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings, only to be answered by both Ace and Luffy going "Uuuuuuuhhhhh…"

"You don't even know where his house is?!" The book lover chastised them.

"Sabo never wanted to talk about his life back here, so he kept it to himself." Ace shrugged his shoulders.

"We didn't want to upset him." Luffy defended.

Robin gave a sigh, understanding how Sabo felt. "Okay, but if you guys don't know where he lives, then where should we start looking?"

"Don't know, don't care!" Ace announced as he marched forward from Luffy and Robin. "I don't care if I have to search all night and look all over this place; were finding Sabo and were bringing him back!"

"Darn right, we are!" Luffy shot his fists in the air.

Robin was uneasy about the short sighted plan, but knew it was the only one they had to go on before giving a determined nod.

"Alright, let's go!" Ace declared as he lead the charge down the alley, with the two young ones following behind him.

"WE'RE COMING, SABO!" The straw hatted boy shouted at the top of his lungs.

* * *

It would only be few hours before the sun began to peek up over the horizon of the sea, as the sound of hammer meeting nail echoed out across a lone harbor at the far edge of the kingdom.

After a few more strikes, the hammering stopped and a young boy wearing a top hat and petty coat stood up from his spot and wiped his brow after a job well done.

"It might not be the best looking ship, but at least it will stay afloat…"

Sabo looked out to the Goa Kingdom's open bay, leading out to the vast ocean.

"As soon as the sun rises…I head out to sea…"

He wiped his eyes as he felt fresh tears begin to form.

"Sorry, Ace…Luffy…But I'm gonna become a pirate first…"

* * *

Luffy gave a long, drawn out yawn as he walked with his friends. "I'm tired…"

"We've been up all night…" Robin groaned as she slumped against a wall.

"We can't give up now…" Ace growled as he heaved himself off from the ground with his pipe. "Sabo's gotta be around here somewhere!"

Suddenly, an uproar from far off caught their ears, drawing their attention to where the noise was coming from.

"What's going on?" Robin asked quizzically.

"Let's go check it out!" Ace declared as he and the others made their way toward the ruckus.

The kids ran to the noise, which led them to the edge of town overlooking the bay harbor of the kingdom. Far off from their location, they could see the gathered multitudes of nobles crowding around the harbor, looking out to the open ocean.

"What's going on?" Luffy asked as he looked over the sight of the crowd. "Some kind of party?"

"I think there all waiting for something…" Robin deduced as she peered over the guard wall from the high payment to the deep waters below.

"Maybe Sabo's somewhere in that crowd!" Ace deduced, suddenly clenching his fist round his lead pipe. "With his family…"

* * *

Unbeknownst to the searching three, the nobles at the other end of the harbor were discussing something else altogether.

"What happened last night?!"

"That dirt-hole should have been burned to nothing!"

"The celestials will not be pleased!"

"What do we do? **_What do we do?!_** "

All the nobles were in a panic, wondering why Grey Terminal hadn't been purged as their king promised he'd do. Now with a humongous junk-pile right outside of their kingdom, how will the celestials ever find them worthy of their anointment now?

Their fears were about to come to fruition when the sight of a Navy Battleship came into view to the gathered masses. The nobles didn't know if they should clap and cheer as they planned to, the excitement they felt the day before had been torn away from them, leaving behind a feeling they had a rarity of experiencing; failure.

This time, the noble's we're not going to get what they want.

Among the crowd, Sabo's father, Outlook, was just as nervous as the people surrounding him.

"Father?" His adopted son, Shelly, attempted to gain his attention by pulling on his pant leg. "What's going to happen? I thought the filth over the wall was supposed to be gone."

"Shut up, boy!" Outlook vented his frustration by pulling his pant fabric away from Shelly's hand.

"Husband, please!" His wife pleaded. "Don't make this any worse!"

"It's already as worse as it can be!" The top hatted man growled as he went back to brooding. "I can't believe this is happening…Goa will be appalled by the celestials without a doubt once they look over the wall! And where's that stupid boy of mine?!"

The answer to that question came to him in the form of spotting his son, his true blood son Sabo, coming into view whilst sailing a make-shift, barely holding boat, with a flag with a bright blue 'S' with two crossbones behind it. Outlook was wrong, this situation could get worse!

* * *

As the small boat made it's way through the open bay, Luffy and the others were too distracted by the large ship that had come in.

"Hey! That's a marine Battleship!" Luffy jumped with joy at the sight of the large vessel.

"Do you think it could be Garp?" robin hope out loud. "Did Makino get in touch with him after all?"

"I don't think so…" Ace spoke with an edge. "See that big fat guy wearing the weird bubble on his head?"

"Yeah?" Luffy peered closely at the strange person. "Wonder who he is?"

* * *

"Saint Jalmack!" A marine saluted. "We are about to make dock with Goa Kingdom!"

"About time!" The overweight rich man thundered. "It shouldn't have taken this long to get here! Go this slow again, and I'll see to it your made my slave on the spot!"

"Y-yessir…!" The marine returned weakly, not wanting to anger the man anymore than he unintentionally had.

Jalmack made his way over to the side of the ship, taking in the sight of the kingdom and the gathered crowd of nobles there to meet him. As he gazed at the crowd, he noticed how unenthusiastic the people there seemed to be.

"Why aren't they cheering for my arrival?!" The celestial questioned hotly. "Don't they know how to treat they're superiors?!"

"Saint Jalmack, sir!" A marine called his attention. "There seems to be a small sailboat on the water on the side of our ship!"

 ** _"WHAT?!"_**

* * *

As the children took in the sight of the ship, Luffy was lucky enough to look away back at the crowd, only to spot something else in the water.

"Hey, look!" He pointed to the foreign object. "Another ship!"

Ace and Robin looked to where the straw-hatted boy was pointing and with a closer inspection, Ace's eyes shot wide open. **_"THAT'S SABO!"_**

 ** _"SABO?!"_** Luffy and Robin chorused together as they leaned they're heads over the side, trying to get a closer look. Seeing the familiar blue petty coat and top hat, Luffy and Robin broke out into wide spread grins.

"It is Sabo!" Luffy hollered with glee, before he sprang to his feet on top of the wall and began waving his arms over his head. "HEY, SABO! OVER HERE!"

Unfortunately, Luffy's calls weren't able to reach the noble child. He was too far out in the bay.

* * *

"Well, this is it," Sabo spoke to himself as he turned his ship's helm. "My first day out at sea! Ace and Luffy would be so jealous!" He chuckled to himself at the thought, before giving a wistful sigh. "I wish they were here to see me off…"

* * *

"SABO!" Luffy called again.

"It's no use, Luffy," Robin attempted. "Sabo's too far out; He can't here us."

Ace looked back to the marine ship. "looks like the big guy noticed Sabo to, and he's getting all wound up for some reason. He's yelling at his men and everything."

"Why would Sabo being out their upset him so much?" Robin asked.

Luffy looked closely at the man in weird clothes, watching as a marine came over to him, carrying something strange. Upon closer inspection, the boy's face fell when he realized what the device the marine handed the plump man was. **_"IS THAT A BAZOOKA?!"_**

 ** _"A WHAT?!"_** Ace and Robin hollered as they watched the man inspect the fire arm before hoisting it on his shoulder.

"Why would he want something like that?!" Ace questioned out loud, a deep pit forming in his stomach.

As soon as the man took aim at his chosen target, Robin realized the worst. **_"HE'S GONNA SHOOT SABO!"_**

 ** _"SABO!"_** Ace called out with all his might. **_"GET OUT OF THERE!"_**

 ** _"He can't hear us…!"_** Robin whimpered, unable to look away from what was about to happen.

 ** _"Sabo…"_** Luffy followed, tears beginning to brim at his eyes.

Luffy then sniffed up his tears and looked ahead, determination blazing in his eyes. He hopped up on the wall and clenched his fists tight.

"Luffy…?" Robin looked up to the boy quizzically.

"What are you doing?!" Ace wondered, desperation clear on his face.

Without answering either of the tow, Luffy placed his left hand on his right shoulder and began to swing his arm round and round like a pinwheel, his focus on Sabo's boat and nothing else.

 ** _"GUM GUM…!"_**

* * *

"Saint Jalmack!" A bold marine stepped forward. "Is there really a point in firing on a pedestrian boat, with a child on it no less?!"

Jalmack turned back with a dark scowl on his face, making the marine regret his actions immediately.

"Of course!" The man bellowed, as he turned back and took aim. "I can annihilate anyone I please… ** _AS IS MY RIGHT!"_**

* * *

 ** _"PISTOL!"_**

* * *

Before Jalmack could even pull the trigger, a sudden jerk rocked Sabo out of his thoughts and looked to wear the source was coming from…

A lone hand had latched on the broadside of his ship.

Scanning the hand, he followed the extended forearm all the way back to an abandoned side of the harbor and his eyes widened at who he saw.

"Luffy?" Sabo whispered in disbelief. "Guys?!"

* * *

A bright smile shown on Robin's face. **_"YOU DID IT, LUFFY!"_**

 ** _"WAY TO GO!"_** Ace praised the rubber boy. **_"NOW WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! PULL HIM IN! PULL HIM IN!"_**

Before Luffy could do such a thing, the strain of his stretched arm began to drag him across the wall. Before he could fall into the sea below, Ace and Robin noticed his panicked face and immediately grabbed hold of him.

 ** _"AHHHHH! PULL ME IN! PULL ME IN!"_** The straw-hatted boy wailed in fear.

* * *

"What the devil is that?!" Jalmack roared as he followed the freakishly long limb all the way to its owner, spotting the young trio at the end of the harbor. "Children… ** _With Devil Fruit powers?!_**

Looking back down at the ship below him, he noticed that the small vessel was being puled back toward the children and away from his ship.

 ** _"YOU DARE?!"_** He bellowed, his face red with rage. **_"YOU DARE TO DEFY ME?!"_**

The crazed Celestial aimed once more at Sabo and pulled the trigger. Right before the blast could strike the boat, Sabo was pulled out of the way and the resulting explosion hit and missed nothing but open water. The shockwave of the blast rocked Sabo's ship, causing him cling on to the closest stable thing he could get ahold of.

Luffy, Robin and Ace kept pulling with all their might, dragging the boat across the crashing waves caused by the rich man's weapon. Every time Jalmack had a beed on the top hatted boy, he'd miss by mere inches thanks to the young ones at the harbor.

"What is going on out there?!" A noble cried out as he and the crowd watched the display going on out at sea.

"The Celestial is trying to shoot that boat out of the water!" A noble woman exclaimed, waving herself with a fan to clam herself of the intense situation. Outlook and his family were stunned at what was taking place. They couldn't take their eyes off of it.

Jalmack was furiously firing at the small vessel, seething with every missed shot. Luffy and the others kept pulling Sabo in, and with one last heave, and one last shot from Jalmack, Sabo's ship was rocketed into the air from the shockwave of the blast and began sailing through the sky toward his rescuers.

 ** _"SABO!"_** Luffy happily cheered, tears falling from his face.

Ace was the first to realize what was about to happen and grabbed Luffy by the back of his collar and Robin's arm and began making a run for it. **_"MOVE!"_**

The makeshift pirate ship collided right where Luffy, Ace and Robin once were, debris flying everywhere as the ship grinder against the stone ground, chasing down the fleeing children, all the while Sabo clinging on for dear life. The ship then came to a sudden stop, flinging Sabo from his perch and sending him crashing on top of his friends.

"Ow…" The top hatted boy groaned.

"Uuuuh…" Robin moaned.

"Everyone okay?" Ace asked while he pushed himself up.

"No…" Luffy's voice was muffled as his face was flat on the ground.

Once the children got back up and dusted themselves off, they had a moment of silence as they all looked at one another. The staring contest between Sabo and the trio went on for a little while, until Ace and Luffy shouted in joy, tackling Sabo in a hug.

 ** _"SABO!"_** Luffy wept, clinging on to the boy's petty coat, not wanting to let go.

 ** _"THANK GOODNESS YOUR ALRIGHT!"_** Robin wailed as she wrapped her arms around the boy, not daring to let go.

 ** _"YOU SCARED THE HECK OUT OF US!"_** Ace shouted, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Guys! Guys!" Sabo called out over Luffy and Robin's crying, managing to push them off. "What are you doing here?!"

"Saving your life, apparently!" Ace replied hotly, crossing his arms as he glared at the gap toothed boy. "What were you doing out there?!"

"I…" Sabo tried to find an excuse, but found none as he lowered his head. "I was trying to set out to sea…"

"WHAT?!" the trio yelled in union

"I couldn;t take it!" Sabo relented. "When I found out about the nobles plans to burn down Grey Terminal, I tried to open the gates to get to you guys. Next thing I know, I'm getting knocked out by the kingdom's police," Luffy and Ace growled at this while Robin threw her hands up to her mouth in shock.

"I hat this place too much to stay and I couldn't go back to you guys because my dad might find us again and actually…" He couldn't bring himself to say it. "And…I didn't think you guys would want me back…Not after everything that's-"

Sabo was interrupted by a punch to the face, curtesy of the hot-tempered freckled boy.

"ACE?!" Luffy and Robin exclaimed in outrage.

Sabo rubbed his face before looking up at the one that hit him. "What the heck was that for?!"

"For being stupid!" Ace bellowed, shocking everyone present.

He took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself, but it didn't work. "You think we wouldn't want you back?! Don't you dare think that! Luffy couldn't stop crying about you when you left, and Robin had to knock some sense into me to come get you!" He the scratched the back of his head, his next words being a little hard for him to say. "…How can we be the ASL pirates without the 'S'?"

Sabo looked up at Ace, who was looking away to hide his embarrassed face, and couldn't help the moisture that came to his eyes. He wiped the close to falling tears away and beamed at his fellow older brother. "Thanks, Ace…"

The freckled boy looked back and cracked a cocky grin as he reached his hand down to help the top-hatted boy up. "Anytime…"

* * *

"Ungrateful greeting party…ships blocking my path… ** _and children with Devil Fruit powers! What kind of kingdom IS this?!"_** Jalmack roared as he looked out over the bay, making the crewmen of the ship backpedal to avoid his fury being directed at them.

"S-Sir…?" One brave government agent spoke up, making the seething saint turn his head back at him.

 ** _"TURN THIS SHIP AROUND!"_** He bellowed, throwing his bazooka to the ground in anger. **_"WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE HOLY LAND THIS INSTANT!"_**

"Y-Yessir!" The agent saluted and began ordering the crewmen to turn the ship around immediately.

"If this kingdom thinks they're getting any sort of blessing from the Celestials after this…" Jalmack spat in disgust. **_"They're sorely mistaken…!"_**

* * *

As the navy ship began to turn itself around, heading back to the entrance way to the Goa kingdom harbor, the nobles already fragile hope were completely dashed.

 ** _"THEY'RE LEAVING! THE CELESTIALS ARE LEAVING!"_**

 ** _"NO!"_**

 ** _"EVERYTHING'S RUINED!"_**

 ** _"WE'LL NEVER BE BLESSED NOW! NOT AFTER THIS!"_**

As the crowd fell into despair, one by one, they looked to the wreckage of the small boat that was out at sea before. Their grief turned to anger, spiteful vengeance clouding their judgment.

* * *

The four children were brought out of their reunion by the sound of furious shouting. Looking back, they saw an angry mob of nobles, heading straight for them.

 ** _"THIS IS ALL THEIR FAULT!"_**

 ** _"THOSE KIDS! THOSE…THOSE DEVIL FRUIT FREAKS!"_**

 ** _"THEY CHESED THE CELESTIALS OFF WITH THAT LITTLE BOAT STUNT!"_**

 ** _"GET THEM!"_**

 ** _"MAKE THEM PAY!"_**

"I think its time to go…" Sabo's words earned a nod from the others. The four young ones broke out into a wild run for an exit, any exit.

* * *

Luffy, Robin, Ace and Sabo ran down an alley, hiding behind the wall to avoid the detection of the raving nobles scouring the town for their blood.

Ace gave a huff. "Now they decide to do something for themselves…!"

Sabo looked around the alley, looking up and down the large, white brick wall that made the alley a dead end. He recognized it in an instant. "Hey, guys! This wall leads right over to the outside of the kingdom!" He spotted a large pile of boxes and got an idea. "Luffy, Ace! Help me with these boxes! We'll pile them up and climb out of here!"

"Good idea, Ace!" Luffy chimed as he and his brother went to work on building their make-shift escape.

"Keep an eye out for us, Robin!" Ace advised as he lifted a box with Sabo's help. Robin gave a nod and poked her head around the corner of the alleyway. The minute she did, she gave a horrified yelp and ran down to where the boys were.

"What's up, Robin?" Luffy asked.

 ** _"YOU!"_** Was the answer he got, but not from Robin.

The boys shot there heads back at the entrance to the alley. Ace glared at the figure, Luffy stared in disbelief, but Sabo was shaking like a leaf.

"Dad…" He breathed.

Outlook stood at the end of the alleyway, panting for breath, with a wild and crazed look in his eye. "You little brat…" He ground out. Soon enough, Sabo's mother and his adopted 'brother' showed up behind the top hatted man, spotting Sabo and his friends against the wall.

Outlook took a step forward. "You've ruined everything…" he was suddenly stopped a by a multitude of hands forming along the narrow closing of the alley and forming up into a web of limbs, keeping the children and the nobles separated. Sabo looked behind him and spotted Robin holding her hands together and giving the adults a scathing glare.

"I won't let you hurt him!" She declared.

Outlook was aghast at the phantom armed fence. Soon enough, Sabo's mother and his adopted 'brother' arrived behind Outlook, spotting the boy and his saviors down the dead end.

"Sabo!" The mother cried out. "What were you thinking, sailing out on that boat?!"

For a moment, it seemed like she showed true concern, until…

"You've cost us the blessing of the Celestials! How could you do this to us?!"

"You son nearly got blown up by that rich fatso!" Luffy barked, dropping the box he was carrying without a second glance."And you don't even care?!" The woman backed up in fear of the straw-hatted boy.

"So these are the friends you spent your time with outside the kingdom…" Shelly sneered as he looked to each one of Sabo's saviors. "Not only poor, but freaks too…"

Ace stepped toward the fence of limbs and glared at the big nosed boy through the gaps."Don't make me come over this fence, you turd…"

Shelly panicked at the ferocity behind Ace's words, and hid himself behind his adopted mother, his knees visibly shaking.

Outlook wasn't about to let these children intimidate him though. He looked back at his son, who was only frozen at his presence.

"Do you realize what you've cost us?!" He ranted. "Goa Kingdom's future has been jeopardized by your'e **_selfishness!_** "

Sabo's eye ticked.

"Our home will never be blessed by the Celestial's now, all because of you, and your **_stupid friends!_** "

Sabo's brows creased down.

"Sabo, please!" His mother spoke up next. "Haven't you caused us enough pain as it is?"

Sabo clenched his fists.

"As for you!" Outlook roared as he cast his eyes on the three with Sabo. "If it was't for your you three, that discussing junkyard would have been burned off the face of the earth, **_which it deserves,_** and we'd be rich beyond our wildest dreams!"

Sabo's jaw locked.

"There's people living in there!" Luffy defended. "You would have killed them all, just to make yourselves look good?!"

"WHAT'S A FEW LOWLIVES ROLLING AROUND IN FILTH, COMPARED TO THOSE QITH NOBLE BLOOD?!" Outlook bellowed, earning him a horrified face from Robin, a furious stare from Ace, gritted teeth from Luffy, and Sabo just stayed where he stood, slightly shaking.

"I have had enough of your rebellious behavior, Sabo!" Outlook looked back down at his son. "You are going to tell that little freak girl to take down this down! And then you're going to come back home with us, **_AND YOU'LL NEVER DISOBEY ME AGAIN-_**

 ** _"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE, DAD?!"_**

Everybody stopped.


	10. The A,S,L,R Pirates

**_The A,S,L,R Pirates_**

Sabo gave his father a look he had never seen before; Pure, unfiltered, rage.

The top hatted boy was breathing heavily, as if the anger boiling inside him was seeking ventilation from its build up. Ace, Luffy and Robin watched their friend stare down his father, who along with the rest of his family, had been taken aback by his sudden outburst.

Ace shook the shock off and turned to Luffy. "Luffy, give me a hand over here!"

The straw hatted boy watched him walk over to the boxes and continue to build their escape, suddenly getting the idea. "O-okay!"

Robin kept the web of arms up, putting all of her concentration in keeping Sabo's noble family away from them.

Sabo's mother had her hand to her mouth, unable to even fathom that her son had spoke to his own father in such a frightful manner. Shelly started to sweat at the sight of the fuming boy, and Outlook just stood silent, looking back at his flesh and blood look him in the eye, without batting an eye.

"Let me ask you something…" The top hatted boy asked as calmly as he could, spreading his arms out to emphasis himself. "What do you see, when you look at me?"

At first, his father had trouble understanding the question until Outlook's face creased in anger once more. "…I see an ill-mannered, irresponsible and ungrateful child, who refuses to do what he's told and listen to what I say! You're my son, and you belong to me!"

Sabo looked down, the brim of his hat covering the pained look in his eyes. "…That's just it, isn't it?"

Outlook leaned in closer to the fence of arms, careful not to touch the grotesque abnormality. "What was that?"

"That's how you really see me, isn't it?" Sao trembled, his anger resurfacing as he looked his father in the eye, making the man step back in fear. "I'm not your son, ** _I'm your'e property!"_**

Robin swallowed at the sound of those words, Luffy looked back at his brother with concern, while Ace continued to build the tower of boxes, now reaching half-way to the top of the wall. Even when he was still working, he still listened, letting Sabo say what he needed to say.

"Let me ask you something else?!" Sabo yelled, causing the man and the woman behind him to flinch, the big nosed child clinging behind her in silent fear.

"When was the last time you gave me a hug?!" He spat at the top hatted man, who gave a puzzled look at the odd sounding question, but no answer.

Sabo looked at his mother next, who flinched at his hard gaze. "When was the last time you tucked me in at night?!" Again, he received no answer.

Sabo looked down at the gound, hiding the tears forming in his eyes. "When was the last time you said you love me…?" This seemed to get a reaction out of both his parents, somehow striking a cord inside them.

Sabo shot his head back up, glaring at them both, unashamed of the tears flowing down his face. ** _"Those things wouldn't have cost you a berry! But you still didn't do them, because you never loved me in the first place!"_**

Robin still held the fence in place, not allowing her grief for her friend to take her over and let her tears fall just yet. Luffy looked back at his brother, sniffing his tears back with a sad "Sabo…" while Ace carried on building the box tower in silence, but his heart going out to the top hatted boy nonetheless.

As the dark haired, freckled boy placed another box on top of the other, he realized that they were now at the top of the wall. "Guys! The boxes are finished, let's get out of here!"

Luffy looked back up to Ace, seeing the tower was indeed finished. "Okay! C'mon, Robin!"

"Right!" She nodded, holding her arms to get as she made her way over to the pile.

Sabo turned and started walking toward the tower, when his father called out to him. "Sabo! Don't you dare walk away from me!" Sabo ignored his order as he continued to make his way toward his grew so furious, he pushed his pride to one side and grabbed the fence of limbs before him and shook at it violently.

Robin gave a cry of pain, but still held the fence together. Luffy heard and saw this as he turned back at the man who was hurting Robin. "Leave Robin alone you stupid-!"

"Keep going!" The dark haired girl stopped his threat. "I'll hold the fence up for as long as I can!"

The top hatted boy nodded, then lifted Robin up to be handed to Luffy next, helping her to climb the box steps while she kept her hands locked together, not wanting to let the fence down just yet. The higher the boys and girl went, the more angry Outlook grew as he thrashed against the wall of limbs.

 ** _"Don't you dare walk away from me!"_** He roared like an animal in a cage, so much so that his wife and adopted son stepped back at his rabid behavior.

Outlook's grip on the arms grew tighter and tighter as he continued to shake at them. Robin couldn't concentrate any longer and let her arms down, the fence disappearing in a plum of pink petals. Outlook was stunned at first, before looking at the retreating children once again and charged for the pile of boxes.

"C'mon, guys! Hurry!" Ace reached the top and motioned for the rest to get up their quick, seeing the seething noble climb the boxes like a madman. However, Outlook's lack of climbing experience showed as he lost his grip on a ledge and nearly slipped off the makeshift tower.

Luffy reached the top of the wall next, then reached back down to grab Robin's hand. Robin pulled herself up with Luffy's help and turned to help Sabo up. Robin reached down to grab Sabo's hand as he reached out his own, only for Outlook to catch up and snatch his ankle in his grasp.

 ** _"You're not going anywhere!"_** He bellowed as he pulled on his son's leg, making him wince in pain. Luffy, Ace and Robin immediately grabbed onto each of Sabo's arms and pulled with all their might. Luffy and Ace pulled as hard as they could, but the mix between Outlook's grip and his newfound pull of gravity was making their hands slip on Sabo's. robin saw the pain on the top hatted boy's face, the strain of the three's tugging on his body getting to him. In a spur of the moment idea, Robin let go of Sabo quick and struck her pose once more.

Two small arms spout out of the side of Outlook's head and in a swift motion, grabbed each end of his mustache and pulled hard, hard enough for his face to stretch out and distort. Outlook gave a growl of anguish and let go of Sabo's leg, using his elbows to keep himself latched onto the wall's ledge, while using his hands to nurse his sore face.

Sabo fell forward onto his bothers and Robin, immediately getting up and running to the end of the edge on the other side.

"How do we get down?!" He called back.

"I've got an idea!" Luffy declared as he looked over the edge and then suddenly, jumped off.

"LUFFY!" Robin cried out in terror, running to the edge with Ace to look down at him as he fell.

"Gum-Gum Balloon!" Buffy announced as he sucked in a heap of air, expanding his stomach to a comically large size and holding it in as he gently floated to the bottom and bounced when he hit the ground.

Ace backed up from the ledge with a grin. "Luffy, for once, those powers are coming in good use!" He then ran to the end of the ledge before jumping and sailing down toward his little brother's belly, bouncing off him and landing safely.

"C'mon, Robin!" Ace called up. The straw hatted boy made an attempt to say 'You can do it!' but since he had to hold his breath, ti came out as a series of hums.

Robin glanced down nervously, looking over to Sabo who gave her a thumbs up, telling her that she'd be okay. The dark haired girl relaxed a little at this, then proceeded to jump off, screaming all the way down before plopping on Luffy's stomach and bouncing off onto the gound. "Thanks, Luffy!"

Luffy tried to sound out a 'No problem!' which only caused the girl to smile.

Now it was Sabo's turn to jump. One more leap, and he'd be free of Goa Kingdom once more.

 ** _"SABO!"_** His father called from behind, stopping the boy in his tracks. ** _"You leave this kingdom, you'll never be allowed back in! You hear me?! I'LL SEE TO IT YOUR NEVER SEEN AS NOBLE AGAIN, PERSONALLY!"_**

Sabo stood frozen for a second, the harsh words of his father striking him in his heart with a pain he had grown familiar with.

"SABO!" A call from down below brought him out of it, as he looked down and spotted his friends, his brothers and only girl in his life he'd known…his family.

"What are you waiting for?!" Ace called up, wondering why he was taking so long.

"You can come down! Don't worry! Luffy will catch you!" Robin shouted out, wanting to put any of his fears at ease.

'Let's go home, Sabo!' Luffy tried to say, but still held his breath to give him a safe landing.

Sabo was so beside himself, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. The three people that made his life worth living.

"You know something, Dad…" Outlook looked up from his struggling on the side of the ledge to see his son look back with a sad smile.

"…That's everything I've always wanted!"

And with that, he turned around and jumped.

"SABO!" Outlook began thrashing wildly at the ledge, accidentally kicking the footing of boxes out from under himself. The nobleman was now hanging onto the ledge for dear life rather than fury. His wife and adopted child gained a look of horror, seeing him in such a dire and humiliating situation.

The man's lack of physical strength caught up with him though, as he could no longer hold onto the ledge. He fell from the towering height, falling with a wail as he landed on the mess of wooden boxes, crushing them beneath him.

"Darling!" His wife cried as she franticly minced her way over to him, breaking out into hysterical crying as she did so. Outlook was dazed from his fall, answering his wife with a moan of dizziness. Shelly could only look as his new parents acted in such undignified manners.

Nobles wouldn't dare admit when they were in the wrong, or had made a mistake, afraid of what would happen to their precious reputation. But on this day, the reputation of Goa kingdom had been utterly and undoubtedly run through the mud, along with the now broken and disgraced Outlook family.

* * *

"We did it!" Ace thrust his fists in the air in triumph. "We totally did it!"

"We got Sabo back!" Luffy cheered with his freckled sibling.

The four reunited young ones were walking through the thick brush of the jungle. Ace was beaming at a mission accomplished, Luffy was grinning with glee at having his brother back, Robin was at the far back smiling at the three, but then noticed that out of them all, Sabo was the most quiet.

"Did you see the look on that little, big nosed chicken's face when I got into his?" Ace bragged, remembering the little runt that hid behind the noble woman.

"I thought he was gonna wet himself!" Luffy laughed out loud at that, clothing his stomach to sooth the ache.

Robin leaned over Sabo's shoulder so she could be heard over the boy's bellowing. "I'm glad your back, Sabo."

"Yeah…" The top hatted boy returned, a sad sort of smile plastered on his face. "Good to be back…"

"And hey!" Ace turned back to get the returned brother's attention. "Way to go on telling your old man off!" As the freckled boy chuckled at this, Sabo looked down at the ground, clearly not as enthusiastic as he was.

"Boy, what I wouldn't give to give my dad what for if he was still here!" Ace continued to laugh as he looked back. "I mean-" Only to stop when seeing the downcast look on his returned brother's face. "Sabo, what's up?"

"Huh?" The top hatted boy barely reacted to Ace as he looked up partly. "Oh! Nothing…"

After that, the children kept trailing through the woods in quiet, a mood of unease over them all after their victory.

* * *

Back at the Bandit shack, both Olivia and Makino couldn't stop pacing back and forth, darting their eyes to the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of the missing children. Dadan sat on her porch with a bottle of whiskey in hand, too tense to drink but wouldn't dare admit it. The rest of her gang were huddled inside, all with looks of distraught on their faces. At the far end of the opening, tied to a different tree, was a still unconscious Bluejam and his crew.

A rustle from the bushes alerted everyone, bringing the two women whipping their heads in the noise's direction, the bandit leader to her feet and her men barreling out of the cabin.

With another rustle, four familiar faces made themselves known.

"Were back!" Ace declared proudly.

"We got Sabo!" Luffy happily cheered.

"Luffy! Ace!" Making ran to the boys and scooped them both into a hug, tears falling down her face. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

"Robin!" Olivia cried as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. Robin returned the hug just as intensely.

"I'm sorry I ran away from you, Momma!" The girl wailed, afraid of how angry her mother might have been. "But I had to! I just had to…!"

"It's okay, Robin!" Olivia put the young one's mind at ease. "It's okay! Your safe! That's all that matters!"

Over at the bandit cabin, the gang were balling their eyes out, happy the children were safe. "They're alive, Dadan!" One turned to their boos, who'd turned away to look the other way. "They're okay! See?!"

"Yeah, yeah! Happy days for all!" She grumpily chided, only to turn back and let silent tears roll down her face, her quivering lip barely keeping her cigarette in place.

Once the mother and bartender were finished holding the three, they looked over to the returned child. "Sabo!"

"Hi…" He half-heartedly greeted with a weak wave of his hand. This stopped the two women in their tracks.

"Sabo…Are you alright?" Making asked with concern.

"Of course I'm fine!" The top hatted boy smiled brightly, a little too brightly. "Ace, Luffy and Robin pulled by butt out of the fire, literally!"

The two women looked at each other, uncomfortable with how the boy was acting. The rest of the bandits caught on to the change in atmosphere, their cheers and tears dying down, even Dadan looking back from where she sat.

"Since I thought there was no way I was gonna see any of you again, I decided to set off out to sea and become a pirate early!" The gap-toothed child explained. "But when I got out in the harbor, this huge ship came out of nowhere, with this guy carrying a huge bazooka, and tried to blow me out of the water!" Everyone was unnerved by the upbeat manner that Sabo was speaking in, but didn't dare stop him.

"Then out of nowhere, my brothers and Robin save me from getting blasted! Luffy even managed to pull off aiming when he stretches!" The boy went on. "After my boat crashed and these guys saved me, we made our escape by building a pile of boxes up to the top of the kingdom's wall, when suddenly, my dad shows up!"

"He starts ranting and raving about how we've ruined everything, how much he hates me and wishes I was never born and how he just wants me to do as i'm told for the rest of my life!" Tears began to prickle in Sabo's eyes, but he just kept going. "Then, after for who knows how long, I finally manage to tell him to shut up, and how much I'd rather be dead than be a noble!"

"Robin held him off with her powers, and Ace and Luffy finished the box mountain! We climbed to the top, but my dad tried to stop me, again! He pulled at my leg and said that if I left this time, he'd do everything he could to make sure I never see the inside of Goa Kingdom again!"

Tears were filling up the eyes of Makino, her hands covering her sobs as all she could do was watch this small young boy have a breakdown. Olivia managed to work her way over to the child and take him by the shoulders "Sabo…?"

The top hatted boy looked up with tears in his eyes and a pained smile on his face. **_"I'll never have to see that horrible city or my awful parents ever again! Isn't that great?!"_**

Silence was the answer he was met with. Ace, Luffy and Robin only stared at their brother and friend after his recollection. Making clutched at her skirt, tears freely falling from her eyes. Dadan went back to staring the other way, keeping her remorse for the boy quiet.

Olivia was still holding onto Sabo's shoulders, looking into the painfully forced happy expression on the boy's face.

"Sabo…" The white haired woman breathed out, bringing the top hatted boy's attention to her. She tightened her grip on him as she leaned forward slightly, looking deeper into his eyes as moisture began to form in her own.

"Sabo…I'm sorry your father didn't love you."

The fake happiness left Sabo's face for a stunned one. Then soon enough, he couldn't hold back his turmoil any longer, and broke down crying.

Olivia immediately brought the boy into a tight embrace, letting him wail into her shoulder. Makino could sit beside no longer and tackled the two, wrapping her arms around them both. Ace walked up to where his brother cried and simply placed a caring hand on his shoulder, letting him know he was there. Buffy barreled into the back of Sabo, hugging him from behind and crying just as hard as he was. Robin walked followed suit and managed to squeeze past Luffy and hug the top hatted boy also.

All of them let Sabo know, that they were there for him. They cared for him.

They loved him.

* * *

"Do you think the boy was lying?" A large clocked figure said to another. The two were sailing on a ship outside of the Goa kingdom harbor, looking over the now shamed noble city.

"No," The smaller figure spoke back. "The pan in his eyes was too real to be faked. He was telling the truth."

"If that really was the case, then how come nothing has been burned?" The larger figure pointed out.

"I think I might have an inkling of an idea…" The smaller figure mused. "But it seems we are not needed here. Set course for home."

"At once, Dragon sir."

* * *

After the emotional recollection between Sabo and his surrogate family, the gathering was now in a state of quiet confusion. After surviving the last hours of life-threatening danger, it took some time for everyone to come down from the heightened emotions.

"So what do we do now?" Luffy asked out loud, breaking the silence.

Ace looked over to the still unconscious thugs tied to a tree and scowled. "I want to get some answers…" He said as he got up and made his way to the shack's outdoor steel drum bath. Grabbing a bucket, he filled it with water before making his way over to the out cold crooks.

In one swift motion, Ace dowsed the gang in water, snapping them awake from their mysterious stupor. Bluejam and his crew shook themselves awake, swatting water from their faces and spitting out what got in their mouths.

"What's going on…?" The toothless man groaned out, shaking off the darkness and cold water to take in his new surroundings. "What the-?!"

Bluejam took in the sight of a large gang of mountain bandits, their orange haired leader, two women and four familiar children, all glaring daggers at the down and out pirate. At the sight of the young ones, Bluejam's memory caught up with him.

 ** _"YOU!"_** The toothless thug roared as he began pulling at his ropes, wanting nothing more than to throttle the child in front of him. Olivia instinctively pulled Robin back and away from the rabid man as he thrashed against his restraints.

"Do you realize what you've done?! You ruined everything!" Bluejam barked as he continued to try and get free. "Grey Terminal should have been burned to a crisp! If it wasn't for you and that little freak girl-!"

"Don't call Robin a freak!" Luffy immediately snapped as Makino wrapped her arms around his was it to stop him from charging at the toothless thug.

Growling at the child, his attention turned to the last person he thought he'd see outside the kingdom again, the top hatted noble's son.

"What are you doing here?!" Bluejam asked, genially confused.

"I'm back where I belong!" Sabo proudly stated, looking the toothless bum square in the eye. "I'm never going back to Goa Kingdom again!"

"You…You can't be serious!" Bluejam struggled in his ropes before speaking again. "You had the world wrapped around your finger! Anything you wanted, you could have! But you threw it away?! For what?!"

Sabo kept his stare on the balding man as he stepped back to the people behind him.

"For them?" Bluejam retorted, the boy staying silent his only answer. "What's wrong with you?! They're nothing!"

"They're everything to me!" Sabo made clear. "You think I had the world handed to me on a silver platter back in that kingdom? Wrong! That place was nothing but a prison for me! I hated that place, **_and I hated my life!"_**

Olivia and Makino looked at the boy with sadness. Robin turned her head down at the ground, Luffy and Ace stared at their brother with devotion. As the mountain bandits stood at the back pitying the former noble child, Dadan took to drinking from a bottle of liquor. Even if she was feigning to pay attention to what was going on, she had a strong wish to put the toothless ex-pirate into another coma, just to make herself feel better.

Before Bluejam could say anything else, Olivia spoke up from where she stood with Robin. "So it's true then? You really tried to burn down Grey Terminal and forced these children to do your dirty work for you?"

The down and out pirate stopped his struggling to glare at the white haired scholar. "Yeah, so?! What's it to you?!"

The white haired scholar scowled at the repulsive man, disgust thick in her eyes. All this did was get a look of obscene pride from the ex-pirate.

"So I tired to burn down a trash-dump full of people, big deal!" Bluejam sneered proudly.

"But you didn't come up with that plan all by yourself, did you?" Ace spoke up.

"Say what?" Bluejam asked, a bead of sweat going down his brow.

"When you were losing it over the boxes failing to blow up, you said that the king would never let you in now," Ace pointed an amusing finger at the toothless man. "What did you mean by that!?"

"It was the noble's plan…" Sabo answered for him, making everyone turn their heads toward him.

"The kind of Goa must have hired Bluejam to burn down Grey Terminal." He looked at the man with great grimace.

"Why would the king of Goa want anything to do with the likes of Bluejam here?" Dadan spoke up, stepping forward from the crowd.

"Because noble's wouldn't be caught dead getting their own hands dirty…" The top hatted boy was clutching his fists in boiling anger again. "Their plan was to burn down Grey Terminal and everyone in it, **_all so they could 'look good' for when the Celestials arrive!"_**

Gasps of horror came from the bar-tender and archeologist, with Robin throwing her hands up to her mouth to stifle her own.

"Say what?!" Luffy shouted in shock, with Ace by his side grinding his teeth in rage.

The bandits were blown away by the frightening revelation, with their red-headed leader throwing her bottle to the ground with a smash at the utter audacity of the nobles.

"All those people…" Makino was close to tears for the lives in the junkyard.

"They would have done such a thing…? Just to…" Olivia said in a stupor.

Dadan interrupted her with a loud, spite-filled spit on the ground. "I knew those filthy high-society creeps were full of it, but this is just too sick!"

Ace directed his rage at the ex-pirate and his trussed up gang. **"You were gonna be let into the kingdom once Grey Terminal was on fire, weren't you?!"**

"That was the plan," bluejam growled as he began thrashing at his ropes once more, causing everyone to back up in defense. "Until you little freaks messed everything up! Now the king will never make us noble's now!"

"Like he would have in the first place…" Sabo ground out, catching the balding thug's attention once more.

"What was that?!" Bluejam growled.

"The king would never have made you nobles," The top hatted boy explained. "The nobles are too proud to let the likes of you into their kingdom! If you really did manage to burn down the terminal, the nobles would have just left you outside to burn, along with everyone else!"

 **"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!"** Sabo had apparently hit a nerve in the ex-pirate, making him lose all composure and wrestle at his bidnings like a rabid animal, drool even flying from his mouth.

Makino grabbed Sabo by his shoulders and pulled him back for safety, Olivia doing the same with Robin. Everyone took a large step backwards as Bluejam lost what self-restraint he had left.

"Boss…" One of his underlings tied to the tree also spoke up. "You're crushing us…"

Bluejam either didn't here him or ignored him completely, as he continued to pull at the ropes and crush his men behind him.

Then suddenly, he stopped. He became as still as a statue.

The gathering looked on at the man's sudden change in behavior, wondering what happened to make him stop.

A dark chuckle came from the balding thug. Then another. And another.

Soon enough, Bluejam had erupted into a fit of unhinged laughter, throwing his head back as he cackled into the sky.

His own men were beginning to grow afraid of their leader, more so than usual. The gathering before him could only think back all the more, fearful of his new manic demeanor.

Bluejam began to calm down from his hysterics, lowering his head and breathing deeply to catch his breath. "If what you say is true, kid…then I'm not the only one that got nothing outta this…"

"What are you-?" Sabo made an attempt to step forward, but Makino held on tight to the boy, unrelenting to let him go.

"As we speak, the nobles are probably sweeping this whole 'cleaning up the terminal' plan of theirs under the rug, pretending like it never happened!" The toothless pirate grinned smugly. "They're gonna get off scot free for everything they tried to do… ** _And all you're struggling was for nothing! It was all for naught! Everything you did, will be as if it never happened in the first place!"_**

Bluejam laughed once again, enjoying the crestfallen and angered faces of the children that had foiled his plans. The two women overlooking them were just as downtrodden and frustrated as they were. Dadan and her men were looking ready to beat him into unconsciousness again, but he didn't care, he knew that they knew that he was right.

"Now," He calmed himself from his maniacal cackling to speak like a normal person. "If you'd be so kind as to let me and my men go…"

"No way are we doing that!" Luffy barked.

"You don't have a choice," bluejam grinned for the up-tenth time that day. "Since everything that happened didn't really happen, you're just holding us against our will, making you the criminals…"

"Your'e the criminals!" Robin countered feebly.

"For what?" Bluejam smugly defended. "'Where's there's no smoke, there's no fire' right?"

"You've still hurt too many people in the Terminal to count!" Ace pointed out quickly. "We let you go, you'll just go back to make their lives miserable!"

"Then what're you gonna do, kid? Kill me?" Bluejam stared the freckled boy down, daring him to try something.

Ace stood frozen at the ex-pirate's words, unable to help himself but contemplate the notion.

He swallowed. "Maybe we should…"

"Ace!" Makino shrieked. "Don't say such a thing!"

"But it's the best option, isn't it?!" Ace turned back to the crowd. "Without Bluejam around, everyone can be safe! We won't have to worry about him anymore!"

"But Ace…" Luffy mumbled shakily. "I don't wanna kill anyone…"

"I don't mean you, Luffy!" Ace corrected, before turning back toward the toothless bum. "But…We can't just let him go…"

Bluejam grinned. The freckled kid may play tough, but he doesn't have it in him to take a life. Not like him…

The toothless man was enjoying the sour looks on the crowd's faces, but even their misery wasn't enough. No, they needed to pay for they're meddling in his business…

They had no choice but to let him and his men go. All he had to do was let them talk it out some more, just wait it out….

And the minute they did untie them, he and his gang would carve them into ribbons! Nobody humiliates him and lives to tell the tale!

"Spoken like a true marine, my boy!"

The new voice broke Bluejam out of his thoughts to look back at the newcomer, along with everyone gathered there.

"Garp?!" Makino gasped in surprise.

The hero of the navy was indeed standing before them, arms folded over one another with a toothy grin adorning his face. The trussed up toothless bum stared at the marine captain quizzically, wondering where he had heard that name before. when he finally did remember, his face went white.

"Garp…?!" Bluejam echoed dumbly.

"Grandpa!" Luffy and Ace announced ecstatically.

"GRANDPA?!" Bluejam's face turned his namesake.

"I see everyone's been busy while I've been gone!" The bearded man deduced as he walked toward the gathering. Once he reached them, the marine vice-admiral turned to the mother and daughter of the group.

"Robin, Olivia! You'll be happy to know that the upset to do with the Tree of Knowledge on Ohara has been al cleared up!" Garp beamed. "No one will be going after the tree, or the archeologists, anymore! Clover and the rest send their regards."

The white haired scholar's face showed great relief, while Robin smiled brightly, knowing her friends back home were safe and sound.

"How did you get back here so quickly?" Makino asked in her disbelief.

"The winds were just on our side, is all!" The marine man laughed out loud, before turning serious on a dime. "Now…what exactly has been going on since I've been away?"

The children were more than happy to relay everything that had happened to them in the past hours of turmoil and panic.

"…And then Sabo landed down with us, and we headed back here!" Luffy finished, breathing hard as the excitement of their adventure caught up with him once more.

Garp rubbed his head, absorbing the words spoken to him by the young ones.

"You're not gonna believe a bunch of kids, are you?!" Bluejam spoke up suddenly.

 ** _"Shut. Up."_** Garp didn't even look back to know that the balding bum was sweating bullets.

The vice-admiral stood from his spot, an air of authority radiating off him. "It seems I'll have to pay the king of Goa a visit…"

"And what about the Bubblehead that tried to blow up Sabo?" Ace pointed out.

Garp gave a sigh of reluctance, not looking forward to the reaction he would get. "I'm afraid…there's nothing I can do about that…"

SAY WHAT?!" The four children were aghast by this.

"The Celestials are of a much higher authority then the nobles, and certainly more than the Navy." Garp clarified. "They are the ones that created the World Government, the source of law and order across the seas…"

"So they say…" Olivia murmured to herself.

"They have diplomatic immunity, meaning that they cannot be punished for any committed crimes on their behalf." Garp concluded.

"THAT'S STUPID! TOO STUPID!" Ace roared in defiance.

"They tired to kill Sabo, and there's nothing we can do about it?!" Luffy questioned wide-eyed.

"To put it simply…yes." Garp nodded solemnly.

Luffy looked down to the ground in disatisfaction, while Ace ran off to punch a tree until the bark came off. Makino ran after him, not wanting the boy to hurt himself. Robin's eyes were to the ground as well, with her mother placing her hand on top of her head in sadness.

Sabo on the other hand, was as still as a statue. Wind blew in his face and it didn't even faze him. The top hatted boy was too trapped in his own thoughts to feel anything at that moment…

"The least I can do, is deal with what I can…" Garp announced as he made his way over to the trussed up gang, making them cower in fear once more.

Garp stood in front of the cowering Bluejam, staring him down with steel in his eyes. "I'm gonna enjoy bringing you in…but first!" He cracked his knuckles, making the doomed ex-pirate begin to sweat and shiver at what was in store for him.

 ** _"NOBODY FORCES MY GRANDKIDS TO DO HARD LABOUR, EXCEPT ME!"_**

Bluejam and his crew screamed in terror as the hero of the navy proceeded to beat them all back into unconsciousness.

* * *

After Garp had finished 'interrogating' Bluejam and his crew, many more things were handled by the hero of the navy, specifically to do with the kingdom of Goa.

Due in the 'interrogation' of Bluejam, the man spilled the beans on how the king of the noble city hired him to lay waste to the giant junkyard. He figured that if he was going down, he was going to at least take someone with him.

And since Goa wasn't recently blessed by the Celestials and not welcomed into the world government, there was no immunity for the king to hide behind. In a matter of days, the royal family of Goa was stripped of their title, the king arrested and the kingdom of Goa became a Navy governed state.

The nobles of the ex-kingdom were heavily taxed, their proceeds going to the homeless that lived outside of their walls against their selfish wishes. Anyone that disagreed with having their wealth confiscated didn't dare speak up about it, not wanting to be in the crosshairs of their new overseers.

The nobles wanted to be apart of the world government, now they were. Just not in the way they wanted.

* * *

Later that night, a celebration was in full swing in the bandit shack to welcome home Sabo, and forget the unfortunate news of the Celestial.

Olivia and Makino had cleaned up the young boy and brought him a fresh set of clothes. They tended to his injuries and prepared a large meal fro him, which turned into the full scale celebration it was now. At the centre of it all was Sabo, munching on the best pieces of meat and huddled between Makino and Olivia, treating him like mothers spoiling their own child. Ace and Robin laughed as they clinked bugs of juice, while Luffy scarfed down one hunk of meat after another. The party went on until late at night, laughs and songs echoing out into the clearing of the run down house.

* * *

Time seemed to return to normal for the young four, as if what had happened with Goa, Sabo's father and Bluejam hadn't happened at all. But after the treacherous and life threatening experience, their bond had grown all the more stronger and the young four became all the more inseparable.

Especially after one fateful day…

* * *

"Nico Robin!" The trio of boys announced loudly, taking Robin by surprise.

The four were currently standing in the middle of the brother's make-shift battleground, close to their treehouse where they were safe from any wandering wildlife.

"For helping to save Sabo's life!" Luffy bellowed.

"For showing that you're tougher than you look!" Ace shouted.

"For staying with us through thick and thin!" Sabo declared.

The two older brothers turned behind them to pull something out from behind a log, and pulled it open to reveal a large black flag with two bones crossed over one another, with a red 'A' in the top left corner, a blue 'S' on the right, a yellow 'L' in the bottom left corner, and a purple 'R' on the left.

 ** _"YOU ARE NOW A FOUNDING MEMBER, OF THE A,S,L,R PIRATES!"_** Ace and Sabo declared.

 ** _"YAY, ROBIN!"_** Luffy leaped high behind the flag, he was so excited.

The girl could only stand their in a stupor. She just stared at the make-shift jolly roger, and the boys that made it.

"See, your name is Robin," Sabo explained as he pointed to the 'R' on the flag. "So we put the beginning letter of your name here!"

"That way, you can be next to your boyfriend…" Ace pointed out mockingly, causing Luffy to rush out from behind fuming.

"I'm not her-" Luffy would have finished that sentance, had it not been for the surprise sniffling coming from the dark haired girl in front of them.

They all turned to see Robin's fists shaking, her body trembling, and her eyes leaking with tears like twin waterfalls.

"Robin!" The three resounded together in worry, sprinting up to her in a hurry.

"What's wrong?!" Sabo inquired desperately.

"Do you not like it?!" Luffy asked in a panic.

"We can do it over if you want!" Ace tried to put her at ease.

Robin lifted her face, showing the tears that freely ran down her cheeks, but she made no attempt to cover them up. Along with her tears, was a bright, happy smile gracing her face.

"I love it…" She sniffed. "Thank you…"

Taken back by her words, the two older brothers smiled at the newest member of their crew, while Luffy abandoned the two to rush over to her and wrap his arms around her, laughing and spinning, making the girl stop crying and begin to laugh along with him.

"Congratulations, Robin!" The straw hatted boy praised.

"Thanks, Luffy!" She beamed. "You really want me to be on your crew?"

"Of course we do!" He answered as he stopped spinning along with her. "We'd be stupid not to!"

Robin couldn't help but sniffle again at his words before tackling him with a hug of her own. "Thank you!"

As the two youngest members of the child pirate crew hugged and laughed, Ace and Sabo stepped closer together, enjoying the sight.

"We still up for tonight?" The top hatted boy whispered.

"Heck yeah, we are!" The freckled boy answered silently back, before rushing up to the two in front of him, Sabo catching up behind.

"Hey, Luffy! If you're done hugging your girlfriend, let's all go for a hunt!" Ace snidely chimed in.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Was the straw hat boy's angry remark.

* * *

It was the dead of night in Foosha Village on that same day. The townsfolk were long into their sleep. At the Nico household, Olivia peacefully slept in her bedroom, whilst Robin was deep asleep in hers. Suddenly, a pebble was thrown at her window, tapping against the glass, then another, and another.

Robin was drawn out of her slumber, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she went and opened her curtain. Looking out, she saw that Ace and Sabo were standing their, Ace bouncing a small rock in his hand and Sabo waving to her.

Robin opened her window and poked her head out. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We need to show you something!" Ace whispered, wanting to keep the conversation between the three of them and not wake anyone else up.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Robin yawned, wanting nothing more than to go back to bed.

"Sorry, Robin, but we need to show you this right now!" Sabo desperately pleaded with her. Seeing the dire need in his eyes, Robin became a little more awake.

"Is it about Luffy?" She worried.

"No, this isn't about your boyfriend!" Ace drowned out, ignoring the scathing look the woman shot him.

"Look, would you just come with us, please?!" Sabo harshly whispered under his breath. "After that, you can go straight back to bed, we promise!"

Robin gave a huff of annoyance. "Fine!" She made a move to back inside and get some clothes on before she stopped. "But if you two are just wasting my time-"

"Trust us, Robin…" Ace smiled. "This'll be worth it."

* * *

The three children were trudging through a patch of forest that connected with the dense jungle of Mt. Colubo. Ace and SAbo were way ahead of Robin, who was still trying to wake up for whatever the two needed her for.

The dark haired girl stumbled over a stray rock, irking her along with her lack of sleep. "Where are we going?!"

"Hold on, Robin," Sabo turned back to reassure her. "Not long now."

"You've been saying that for ages now!" Robin groaned. "I wanna go back to bed!"

"Don't worry, Robin…" Ace spoke up as he placed a hand on a branch in front of him. "We're here."

Robin caught up with the boys in time for the freckled child to pull the branch back like a curtain.

Unveiled in front of her was the stump of a tree, with three small, red saucers and a pale grey bottle sitting on top of it.

"What's all this?" she stepped toward the display, looking at it from different angles.

"This is a ritual that me, Ace and Luffy did before we met you." Sabo answered for her as he walked around to the other side of the stump.

"A ritual?" Robin rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"When two or more people share a cup of sake together, they become brothers," Ace explained as he poured a cup of the drink into each of the saucers. "That's how me, Sabo and Luffy became brothers."

"You drank sake?!" Robin's eyes shot open, drowsiness now completely forgotten. "Luffy drank this?!"

"Sure did!" Sabo spoke as he took the saucer in front of him. "And if you want, you can too."

"Huh?" Robin responded confused.

"Robin," Ace took his own cup and smiled at the girl. "Drink this, and we wont just be friends anymore. We'll be you're brothers, and you'll be our sister."

Robin was frozen. Her? Having brothers?

She stared back down at the filled sake cup in front of her, then back at the two older siblings. She looked around for the familiar face of her first friend, a small frown appearing.

"Where's Luffy?" she asked in a downtrodden tone. "Did he not want to be here? Did he…not want to be my brother?"

Sabo and Ace looked at each other with a knowing smirk before turning back to her.

"Robin…" Sabo gently spoke. "We know how you feel about Luffy…"

Robin's head shot up when she heard that, her face lit up like a tomato. "W-what are you talking about?!"

"C'mon, Robin!" Ace laughed. "It's written all over your face!"

The little dark haired girl looked down again to hide her blushing cheeks as Ace continued to chuckle.

"You can't like Luffy the way you do if he was your brother," Sabo pointed out. "That'd be weird."

"Yeah…" Robin agreed as her face scrunched up in grossness.

"We'll drink these sake cups," Ace got back to the point. "That way, you can keep liking Luffy the way you do, and we'll be your brothers…that is…if you want?"

Robin saw the worry on the freckled boy's face. He was looking away, once again pretending not to care and hide his emotions. That only made him easier to read. Robin then looked over to the top hatted boy, who was looking at her with a small smile, but she could see the fear of rejection in him easily.

Looking back down at the red saucer, she gave a smile and picked it up in both hands, lifting it to her mouth. Seeing the smile on her lips, both brothers gave a beam of their own before hurriedly picking their own up.

And in one motion from all three, they drank the bitter taste down together.

"Ugh!" Robin grimaced after she swallowed her share. "That tastes awful!"

"Heh!" Sabo chuckled as he was hunched over. "Just like last time…"

"Why would anyone drink this stuff?!" Ace tried to spit the taste out of his mouth.

"But…" the dark haired girl spoke up. "We're siblings now, right?"

Ace and Sabo looked back at her, and slowly began to smile. They walked over to her and put an arm around her each.

"Yeah, Robin," Sabo answered. "We're your brothers now."

"And you're our little sister!" Ace grinned.

Robin looked at the two, moisture coming to her eyes once more.

Nothing and no one could wipe the smile that appeared on the girl's face that night.


	11. As The Tides Change

**_To All of my Loyal Readers;_**

 ** _Thank you for your Patience._**

* * *

 ** _As the Tides Change_**

It was a bright shining morning over Dawn Island. The windmills turned with the gentle breeze as the town awoke to another day. And in one certain cottage in the town, a familiar young girl was getting herself ready.

Nico Robin, now a blossoming fifteen year old girl, was finishing the final touches on her appearance before setting out for the day. She had done her hair up in a pony-tail style, with two black bangs framing her face. She was wearing a dress much like the one Makino gave her when she was eight, but now a little more refined for her growth in age.

Smiling to her reflection in the mirror, she left her room with a satchel of books slung over her shoulder. Before pulling the front door open, she looked over her shoulder to see her mother sitting at the dinner table with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"I'm off now…mother." She called with little effort, her eyes darting from the white haired scholar to anything else in her eyesight.

The ex-archeologist looked up from her coffee, hesitant on looking her daughter in the eye, brushing the cup gently with a nervous thumb as she answered her daughter back. "Alright…Robin…"

Robin gave a strained effort of a smile, then turned back and head out the door, taking the awkward silence with her.

Olivia sighed as she was left alone in the house, closing her eyes in the process. As she opened them, she then stared into the steaming mug of liquid before her, her senses glazing over as the heat wafted from the dark blend and onto her face.

* * *

Robin solemnly walked away from her home, but as the sun began to shine upon her, the dark haired girl's mood began to lift. She held up her head and showed a bright smile, picking up her pace as she broke out into a sprint, reminding herself that she was off to see her best friend.

As she ran through the awaking town, she passed Makino, who was sweeping up the front porch of her restaurant. "Morning, Robin!"

"Good morning Makino!" Robin politely returned. As she had grown, she had picked up some of her mother's attributes, such as acting in a more refined and elegant stature.

"On your way to see Luffy, I presume?" Makino asked with a knowing smile on her face.

Robin blushed and made an attempt to hide it. "Y-yes, I am…"

"Well, I hope you have fun together!" The green haired girl wished well. "And bring him by sometime, I'd me more than happy to fix you two up with a meal."

"Thank you, Makino." The dark haired girl bowed slightly before taking off again.

Makino chuckled at the girl's behavior, and with a sigh, went back to sweeping up. "It really should have happened by now…"

As Robin kept on her way, she passed Mayor Woopslap, who was once again sitting on his rocking chair on his forte porch. "Good morning, Mr. Mayor!"

"Good morning to you too, Robin, my dear!" The man called back. "Have you gotten that pirate nonsense out of your boyfriend's head yet?!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Robin retorted, a slight pang in her chest as she did. "And I'm not going to make him give up on his dream!"

"You kids…!" Woopslap grumbled, sinking in his chair with folded arms and a huff. Robin merely gigged to herself and continued on her journey to Mt. Corvo.

The mayor kept his eye on the girl leaving as he mused to himself. "When are those two going to stop beating around the bush already?"

* * *

Robin had finally arrived at the old bandit shack of Dadan and her gang. Spotting her favorite stump to sit on whilst waiting for her brothers to arrive, she made her way over and plopped herself down, pulling out one of her many tomes and diving in for a session of reading.

"Not even going to say hello?" A gruff voice pulled her out of her book as Robin looked up to see Dadan herself standing at the front door to her run-down cabin, the large woman having her arms folded in a disgruntled form.

"You never really seem to be in the mood for a getting, Dadan." robin smiled, knowing that the older woman's spitefulness wasn't as harsh as the bandit leader made out to be.

Dadan scoffed. "And here I thought you picked up on your mother's well behaved attitude after all this time."

Robin physically tensed at the mention of her mother. Dadan noticed this and decided to drop the subject. She got quite the surprise when she found her men gathered behind her at the door and poking their heads out the windows, grinning like idiots as the greeted the young girl. "GOOD MORNING, ROBIN~!"

Robin forced a smile and waved to the gang of outlaws. Dadan gave a grunt of annoyance to put up her usual tough-woman act, and turned back to reenter her home, yelling at her men to knock it off as Robin went back to resume her reading.

She didn't have much time to get far, as a rustle in the distance made her head shoot up and look to the thick brush in the distance, a gleeful smile on her face instantly replacing her expression of discomfort.

A few more moments, and a fourteen year old Monkey D. Luffy came out of the cover of branches. The boy had replaced his anchor shirt long ago with a light red button up shirt, with the top few buttons left undone, along with a pair of rolled up jean shorts and a pair of sandals. The one thing that remained with the boy was his ever present straw hat.

"Hey, Robin!" Luffy called out ecstatically, waving to her as if she were a million miles away.

Robin closed up her book and set off toward him, smiling all the way as she did. "Good morning, Luffy!"

The straw hatted boy chuckled happily, glad to see his fiend once again. "Ready to go?"

"Absolutely!" The dark haired girl followed her best friend into the jungle he just appeared from, waving to the cabin of bandits as she disappeared along with Luffy. As the bandits watched the two go, they all gave sigh.

"Those two have been friends for so long now."

"Yeah; Robin's done a good job, sticking with Luffy after Ace and Sabo left."

"He was so sad to see them go, but Robin did everything she could to make him smile."

A slam of a beer bottle hitting the floor made all the gathered men flinch in fear, as their orange haired boss-lady simmered in a corner, a lit cigarette in her teeth. "Don't you boys start getting soft on me!"

The bandits then darted out of the woman's vicinity, bumping into each other and busying themselves with anything they could come up with. As they did so, Dadan gave a puff of smoke as she stared at the wall before her.

"Everyone else can see it, so why can't they?…Nit-wits…" She mumbled grumpily.

* * *

"Gum Gum…BELL!" Luffy declared as he sent his outstretched head charging into a tree trunk, implanting his face into its bark. Robin grimaced at the sight, watching as the boy pulled his face out of the tree, leaving behind an imprint of his face in the hull.

"What do think, Robin?!" Luffy beamed with pride at showing off his latest idea for a new move.

"Well…When you said you were going to use your head, I honestly didn't expect that." Robin confessed.

"Yeah!" Luffy chuckled. "The other guy will never see it coming!"

Robin didn't have the heart to say that that wasn't what she meant. The two would usually do this in their time together. Ever since Ace and Sabo had left to follow their dreams of freedom, Luffy was happy for them, but also felt quite alone for seeing his brothers , Robin had been there to cheer him up and take his mind off of them.

She would ask him if there were any games he wanted to play, any new moves he had come up with, or even read to him the current book she was flipping through at the moment. Since Olivia's class had dwindled in students, the tasks of teaching Luffy went from the white haired scholar to the dark haired daughter, and Robin was more than fine with that.

"Have you come up with any new attacks, Robin?" Luffy asked, giddy with seeing another one of Robin's new moves.

Robin made the decision to try fighting once again, while a little against her mother's will. There had been many a time Robin had come back home, black and blue with tears in her eyes, but the more she stuck to it, the more she began to hone her devil fruit abilities and soon enough, became a combatant within a league of her own.

"I…haven't really, no." Robin looked to one side, an exasperated expression on her face.

Luffy took notice of the girl's change in mood, and decided to ask about it. "Something wrong, Robin?"

"No, no…" Robin tried to wave off, but knew that she wasn't doing so good a job. As gullible as Luffy could be, he had a strong knowing of when Robin was having trouble with something. Finally giving in, Robin heaved a sigh before explaining. "Mama..Mother and I… have been fighting again?"

The straw hatted boy frowned at this. "About those pona-whatzits again?"

"Yes, the ponoglpyhs…" Robin leaned against a tree trunk, her eyes drooping as she remembered her and her mother's latest argument. "I asked her again if she could teach me what she knows about them, but she keeps blocking me out, telling me that…that…"

"That you could get hurt or worse going after them?" Luffy finished for her. It hasn't been the first time this subject had come up for him when talking to his old time friend.

"As usual…" Robin droned, showing how tired she was of having to repeat herself, on the same subject she had been going on about since she entered her teen years. "Sorry you have to hear about this, for the…I don't even know how many times now."

"No sweat, Robin!" Luffy waved off nonchalantly.

"It's just that…" Robin vented. "I've been wanting to go after the ponoglyphs ever since I was old enough to hold a book by myself. My mother was my hero, even if I never really knew her. But now that I have her again, and finally have the chance to learn what she knows, she says no!"

Robin slumped to the bottom of the root of the tree and pulled herself up into a ball. "I know she's trying to protect me…but this is what I've based my life on…"

Luffy looked at his glum friend, scratching his head as he tried to come up with a way to cheer her up. The poor boy was never as good with his words as Robin was. He then made his way over to her, sitting down in a crossed leg position next to the dark haired girl.

"Why don't you just go ahead and do it?" Luffy inquired innocently. "Study the pono-thingies anyway? It's what you want, right?"

Robin seemed to tense at his inquisition, looking up to him with a guilty expression. "Actually…I have been…"

"So, your mom is helping you?" Luffy showed his confusion on his face.

"No…" Robin shook her head. "I…I took one of her old journals and… have been reading through for the past couple of days."

Luffy's eyes widened at this. "You stole it?!"

"What difference does it make!" She was shaking with grief as she bared her guilt, the repressed feelings she had been trying to ignore coming to the surface all at once. "There's no way I'll ever find the true history of the world, anyway!"

The straw hatted boy was blown away by this. "What makes you say that?!"

"Because the whole world seems to be out to stop me from doing what I want to do!"

Luffy saw her distress and immediately got up from where he sat, made his way over to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Robin looked back at him, then threw her arms around him in a desperate hug. Luffy was more than willing to return it.

"Maybe she's right…" Robin mused out loud. "Maybe I should just forget about the ponoglyphs…"

Luffy was shocked to hear this as he brought Robin out of their embrace to look at each other. "What?! Why would you want to do that?!"

"It's not that I want to, Luffy…" Robin shook her head gently. "It's just…she is right about what she says. The government tried to destroy all of Ohara to keep the true history of the world a secret, and who knows how many other people would want to keep it a secret, or even use that knowledge to put people in danger…"

Luffy kept silent and let the girl talk, letting her words sink in as he listened. A moment of silence passed by the two young friends, a breeze passing by as time seemed to stop for the both of them. After a while, Robin came out of her thoughts to ask Luffy a question.

"Luffy…Why do you want to become the Pirate King?" She asked.

"Because I want to." The boy answered in an instant, showing no shred of hesitation.

This didn't seem to be good enough of an answer for her. "But it just can't be the smiple, Luffy! It'll be dangerous! Pirates have been trying to go after One Piece for years, and none have succeeded! Not to mention the marines, the sea-kings, and all the other crazy phenomenon that happens in the Grand Line!"

 ** _"I don't care!"_** Luffy stood his ground. **_"I'm going to be the Pirate King, and that's final!"_**

Robin was quite surprised to see this reaction, but couldn't help but smile. "I see…I wish It were that simple for me, Luffy…I wish had as much courage as you do, too…"

"What are you talking about?!" The straw hatted boy called out. "Of course your brave!"

Robin looked up at him in confusion.

"You let people call you names and pick on you and not let it get to you, saved your home island from being blown up, came with me, Ace and Sabo on our hunting trips, helped save Sabo from getting shot, and every time your mom has said no to helping you find out more about those pono-whatsits, you're still reading about them!" The boy counted off each of the deeds with expressed atonishment. **_"Robin, your totally brave, and totally awesome!"_**

The girl was in a stupor from being praised so much, and a blush and a smile found its way onto her cheeks. "T-thank you, Luffy…"

"No problem…" Luffy found himself stricken with the beaming delight radiating off the dark haired girl at that moment.

The boy wondered, for the longest time, ever since he first met Robin, a weird, warm feeling had been building up inside him as the two spent more time together. His face would warm up, his heart rate would rise, and he found himself at a loss of thought more than he usually would.

Gulping down his nerves, he got up from the ground and decided to speak up about what had been bothering him for many years, to the person who made him feel this way. "R-Robin, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Luffy." The dark haired girl looked up at the boy, wondering what could be bothering him.

Luffy found himself feeling quite fidgety, but maintained himself to keep going. "U-uh…You see…every time I see you…you make me feel this…feeling…"

Robin's eyes widened at this.

"I get all warm inside, and…its always when I'm around you…"

The girl took in a breath.

"I don't know what it is, or how to put it… but it's not a bad feeling! It's…I don't know what it is…but…it's a nice feeling…but it feels like…its…not enough."

Robin felt as if her heart stopped for a split moment.

"So, I was wondering if you knew what it was?" Luffy looked away, suddenly scared of what robin would say or do.

Robin found herself at a loss of words. This couldn't have been happening. This had to be a dream or something, right? There's no way that he could…could he?

Robin decided to take a chance.

"Actually, Luffy…I…Think I do." She confessed.

"Really?! That's great!" Luffy exclaimed joyously, until he saw Robin coming closer.

Robin stepped toward the straw hatted boy, ignoring her timidness as she held her hands in one another in front of her.

"I've had same feeling you have around me for as long as I can remember…every time I look at you." She stopped in front of him. "You were the first person, apart from Clover and the others to accept me for who I was, to even like me for who I was." She looked him in the eye. "You're really special to me, Luffy…more than anyone else in my life…possibly more than my mother."

 ** _"I think…I love you, Luffy."_**

Luffy's eyes widened at this. All time seemed to stop all around the two. A gentle breeze blew past them, ruffling the leaves on trees and the grass beneath them.

"You…love me?" The straw hatted boy repeated.

Robin nodded, her nerves catching up to her and taking her courage to talk.

At that moment, something inside Luffy seemed to click, as if suddenly everything made sense. His eyes lit up, and a smile broke out on his face.

"Robin…" He took each of her hands in his, causing her to blush and look him in the eye once more, seeing him give her his trademark toothy grin.

 ** _"I think I love you, too."_**

By the way he said it, and the way he looked her in the eye as he did, Robin knew he was telling the truth. Her own eyes widened at his words, then she felt them becoming wet, as she thought that this moment was never going too happen, that Luffy would have no clue as to what she was talking about.

She made a mental note, to never doubt Luffy again.

Robin dived for the boy, locking her arms around him, weeping tears of happiness as she clung to Luffy for what seemed like dear life. "I was so afraid…afraid you wouldn't know what I was talking about!"

"C'mon, Robin!" Luffy chuckled. "I may not be as smart as you, but I'm not that stupid!"

"You're not stupid at all, Luffy!" Robin shook her head with a teary giggle, looking him in the eye. "You're amazing!"

Luffy chcukled at the compliment, but then the mood shifted to another. The two locked eyes, neither one looking away. They began to lean in closer, and closer…

Monkey D. Luffy and Nico Robin, after seven years of being best friends since they first met, shared their first kiss with the one they cherished.

They stayed linked by their lips for a long while, until a thought came to Luffy's head and he pulled away reluctantly, disappointing Robin greatly. "Wait a minute! We can't do this!"

"What?!" Robin felt like her heart was about to break, having what she always wanted taken away from her in such a cruel fashion. "Why not?!"

"You were part of the A,S,L,R Pirates, Robin!" The boy franticly explained. "It would be like kissing my sister!" The boy then felt like he was about to throw up.

Once Robin absorbed his resoning, she chuckled warmly at this before speaking. "It's okay, Luffy. We're not brother and sister."

Luffy was in the middle of ringing out his rubber tongue like a wet towel, when the dark haired girl caught his attention. "Huh?!"

"Ace and Sabo shared sake with me when I was eight. That made me their sister, and them my brothers." She smiled at the fond memory before going back to her explanation. "They knew how I felt about you, and left you out of it because of that."

The boy blinked owlishly for a moment. "…Oh!" He then breathed a sigh of relief. "Boy, that's a relief! That would have been gross!"

Robin giggled at this. "I quite agree…" She then made her way back to the yo and wrapped her arms around his neck. Luffy immediately knew what she was doing, and smiled as they shared another warm kiss.

There was nothing to hold them back from what they wanted, and what they wanted was each other.

They were Luffy and Robin; together at last.

* * *

They spent some time looking up at the sky, watching the enormous, fluffy clouds go by in the wide open blue sky, smiling in bliss at having one and the other holding them close. Luffy leaned his head down and gave Robin a kiss atop her head, making the girl smile in delight.

"Robin…" He spoke up, lifting himself so he could look at Robin. The girl followed suit, still having a bright smile on her face. "When I go out to sea…I want you to come with me!"

"Huh?!" Robin was shocked at the proposal, feeling her mind had just hit a wall.

"If you come with me, I can help you find the pono-whatsits, and that 'true history', just like you wanted!" He explained as if it was the simplest idea in the world. "Also…I don't want you to be alone once I leave…"

Robin's blindsided by the obvious fact that she had neglected to see. Once Luffy left to become the Pirate King, she'd be alone, again.

She refused to ever go back to those miserable days of having no one, and agreed to join Luffy on his journey in a heartbeat. "Yes, Luffy! I'd love to go with you! I never want to be separated from you! Ever!"

The straw hatted boy smiled with glee, as he and his new love celebrated their union with another passionate kiss.

* * *

Dadna and her gang were just lounging about the outside of the cabin, enjoying the fresh air and drinking the odd bottle here and there to pass the time. A russtle of bushes caught their attention, and Luffy and Robin came out of the forest, and to their utter surprise, holding hands.

Jaws dropped and eyes popped at seeing this open display. There completely ignored as the two young ones laughed at whatever was so funny to them.

"I'll see you later?" Luffy asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Count on it." She nodded in kind, the two sharing one last sweet kiss before Robin made her way back home, waving to the boy as she kept on her way.

Luffy waved back with a warm smile, but once turned to make his own way back into the jungle, he saw the overly astonished faces of the bandit woman and her cronies. "What's up with you guys?"

"W-w-w-w-what was?!…W-w-w-w-why'd you?!…W-w-w-w-w-what are?!" The orange haired woman and her followers had trouble finding the right questions, but Luffy knew what they were trying to ask, chuckling at their reactions.

"Me and Robin are in love, that's all!" He stated simply. The straw hatted boy then made his way back into the brush of the forest, smiling happily all the way.

Once he dissapeared, the gang went into a wild frenzy **"IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD! BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! LOCK THE WINDOWS! SAVE THE BOOZE!"**

As the men panicked and ran about the cabin, Dadan was the only one who remained standing still, her cigarette hanging from her lips loosely. Soon she got ahold of herself, blew a puff of smoke, and gave a hidden smile.

"It's about time, you snot-nosed kids…"

* * *

It was coming to the end of the day, the sun beginning to set as Robin made her way back home. All the way to when she arrived at her fortune door, the dark haired girl had a bright smile on her face. She could always count on Luffy to lift her spirits, especially now that they were together at last. Not even the thought of being around her mother could happen her mood.

Robin made her way inside, taking a moment to lean against the door and think wistfully of the time she had spent with her best friend, and secret crush.

"Robin…" A voice broke her out of her thoughts. Looking up she saw her mother, standing there with a look of disappointment and growing anger. The dark haired girl's thoughts about the rubber boy were put on hold, as Olivia pulled out a tattered old book from her folded arms.

"Why was my diary doing under your pillow this morning?" The white haired mother questioned sternly.

Robin felt her body run cold.

* * *

It was closing time at Party's Bar, and Makino was doing her final rounds of cleaning up before heading to bed. As she swept the floor, she heard the doors creak open. "Sorry, but we're closed! You'll have to come back tomo-Olivia?"

There stood the white haired scholar, with disheveled hair and tear stains down her cheeks.

Makino put her broom to one side. "What's the matter?"

"Robin and I had a fight…" Was the mother's miserable answer.

* * *

Luffy was now back in the A,S,L Pirates tree house, his home for the past seven years since Ace and Sabo left. He was laying back on a flat mattress, smiling up at the stars as he remembered the day he had, the memories of he and Robin kissing making his grin bigger and bigger the more he thought of them.

Luffy hadn't felt this good in a long time, not since he, Ace and Sabo shared she cups and become brothers. The feeling of him and Robin being together felt like that but…a million times better! He couldn't get rid of his smile even if he wanted to.

"Luffy…!" A familier sweet voice called out to him through the silence, making him look up in surprise. He looked down the hole where the treehouse's basket dumbwaiter dangled, spotting his new girl at the bottom. He couldn't see her properly through the dark of the night, but he smiled down at where she stood, happy to see her again.

"Hey, Robin!" He waved down to her blissfuly.

"Could you bring me up?" There was a trembler in her voice, but unfortunately he didn't quite catch it.

"Sure!" He shot his hand down to her, feeling her take it and pulling it back up with her rising off the ground.

He pulled her through the hole and retracted his hand back "Guess yo wanted to kiss again, huh?"

The sound of sobbing caught him off guard, and once he got a closer look, he saw that robin was incredibly distraught, crying her eyes out as she bit her bottom lip. "Robin…?"

"Oh, Luffy…" she continued to cry as she lunged toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, the stunned boy wrapping his own arms slowly around him in the process. "I just had the worst fight with my mother!"

* * *

Makino placed two hot cups of coffee down on the counter, and slid one over to Olivia, who was now sitting at the bar, still with a defeated look on her face. Makino folded her arms on the bar and leaned over, concerned for her friend and employee. "What happened?"

Olivia took a sip from her mug before going into her explanation. "I found one of my old journals under Robin's pillow…She'd been studying the ponoglyphs behind my back…against my wishes…I asked her what she was doing with it…"

* * *

"I said I wasn't doing anything with it, but she didn't believe me," The girl was now sitting on the floor of the treehouse, leaning her back against the sill of one of the rickety windows of the structure. Luffy was sitting next to her, rubbing her back gently to comfort her. "She told me not to lie, so I told her the truth…"

* * *

"After all these years, she still wants to go after those blasted ponoglyphs," The white haired mother slightly seethed. "After everything I went through, those cursed things still manage to find a way to haunt me, and through my own daughter no less!"

Making simply listened to the distraught woman, frowning sadly at the turn of events the mother and daughter had come to.

"I've told her time and time again that those ponoglyphs bring nothing but trouble!" The white haired scholar continued.

* * *

"I know that they're dangerous, but…but it's my dream!" She declared loudly, anger rolling off her words. Luffy didn't even flinch when she raised her voice, as if expecting her to.

"Ever since I was little, the ponoglyphs have been my obsession since I could first hold a book!" The daughter carried on.

* * *

"But it's an obsession that leads to destruction!" Olivia clarified, straining herself as she relived the argument a few moments ago. "And if there's anyone who knows that for a fact, its me! I lost so many of my friends on our expedition, when the marines attacked us from out of nowhere…I still have nightmares of watching them die!" Olivia clutched at her mug as if for her life.

Makino reached over to take her hands in hers, wanting to offer as much comfort as she could.

* * *

"I know who dangerous it is, Luffy, but it's my life!" Robin states with passion. "I told her I was going to uncover the lost century no matter what!…But then…"

* * *

"I banned her from studying the ponoglyphs, along with any other foreign nation's history ever again!" The mother spoke with as much authority as she did to her daughter. "As far as I'm concerned, the part of my life where I was an archeologist is over!"

* * *

"Well, it's not for me!" Robin shouted. "I don't care what she says, I'm going to find the ponoglyphs, with or without her help!"

* * *

"I told her that even if I was to let her go, there's no one else out there that would dare risk their life for a bunch of rocks with words on them!" The ex-archeologist started to speak a little louder, which gave Makino that the fight was coming to a not so good end.

* * *

"I told her that you would…" Robin looked to the boy next to her, her eyes still shedding tears as she kept up her story. "I told her that you were going to take me out to sea with you once you reach seventeen…And that's when she said…" Robin began to tear up once again. "she said…"

* * *

"…That she was never going out to sea, and that she was never to see Luffy again."

The bar was silent for a long while. Olivia looked down into her still steaming mug, while Making could only look at the distressed mother in pity.

"Oh, Olivia…" Makino reached out to place a hand on the white haired woman's hand. "I know you want to keep her safe…but it's not worth breaking her heart to do so…"

"But what else can I do?!" The white hared woman asked desperately. "I can't keep her here for the rest of her life, but I don't want her to get herself hurt out there either!"

Makino smiled sadly as she stepped around the bar counter and sat in the stool next to her. She placed a comforting hand on the ex-archeologist's back. "Do you not think I'm afraid for Luffy?" Olivia looked at the bartender in surprise. "He wants to become the Pirate King; that's too dangerous to even imagine. But as much as I don't want to let him go, I have too. It was the same with Ace and Sabo. I didn't want them to leave, but I couldn't keep them from what they wanted."

The distraught mother gazed at the green haired woman, wondering what point she was getting at.

 ** _"Because sooner or later, they have to make their own way. They're lives will eventually become their lives."_**

Olivia's eyes shot open at this, then for the second time that night, broke down crying as Makino held her close in the empty bar.

The mother knew what she had to do, but she didn't have to like it.

* * *

Robin had been pulled into an embrace curtesy of her first friend and crush, and was letting her tears fall freely.

Luffy let the girl cry into his shoulder, while looking off into the distance, as if musing with an invisible force that only he could see, and talking to it with his own mind. After some time passed, Luffy brought the girl to look her in the eye, her face contorted in emotional pain.

"Robin," He spoke softly, but earnestly. "What do you want to do?"

Robin sniffed her nose while recomposing herself. "What?"

"Your Mom wants you to stay, and I want you to come with me," The boy explained, acting in a mature that Robin never seen from him before. As she looked into his intense eyes, she had to be honest, Robin felt quite weak at the knees. Luffy carried on with asking Robin a final question.

 ** _"But I want to hear it from you, Robin…What do you want to do?"_**

Robin gave the question some actual thought, not wanting to dive right into a choice with reckless abandon. Luffy may be good at that, but she wanted to be a little more responsible. After mulling over her intensions, she showed a determined face.

 ** _"I want to do it, Luffy…I want to find the true history of the world!"_**

Luffy showed a proud smile.

* * *

The mother and the bartender made their way quickly up the mountain side, spotting Dadan sitting on the porch of her cabin.

"Dadan!" Making cried out. "Have you seen Luffy or Robin anywhere?!"

"I haven't seen those two come out of the forest since I saw them kiss this morning!" The orange haired woman spat.

This made both women freeze in place.

"L-luffy and R-robin…?!" Makino was suttering repeatedly, but Olivia interjected before she could continue. There were more important things to focus on at the moment.

"Do you know where they could be?!" The mother asked earnestly.

"For all I know, they're in that wreck of a treehouse the brat calls home." Dadan hiked a thumb in the direction of the dark jungle.

"Thank you!" Olivia nodded to the bandit leader quick before heading straight for the forest, Makino following close behind.

"Don't you think you should have gone with them, boss?" One of her men spoke up from behind her.

"If they've got a mess, then they've got to clean it up. It's got nothing to do with me!" Dadan bellowed back, as she went back to star gazing, smoke rising from her cigarette into the night sky.

"So they better fix whatever's wrong…"

* * *

Luffy heaved a large dingy off a bank into the water, which led out into the wide open ocean. "There! That should do it!"

The two newly formed lovers had made the decision to forgo waiting for Luffy to become seventeen, and head out for the sea as soon as they could. The straw hatted boy kept into the boat, wobbling a little as he found his balance on the uneven motion of the waves of the sea.

"Ready, Robin?!" The boy turned back to his girl. He was pretty eager to set off, but Robin was still a little unnerved by the sudden turn of events.

Choosing to ignore her anxiety, she shook her head of negative thoughts and put on a brave smile. "Yes, let's-"

A rustle of bushed behind them made her stop. Turning around, the two saw both Olivia and Makino step out of the brush and into view.

"I'll never get used to walking through this place…" The green haired woman groaned.

"Robin!" Olivia cried out as she spotted her daughter, looking as if she were about to step into a boat with the straw hatted boy. "What are you doing?!"

Robin was blindsided by seeing her mother again, but her anger began to boil up as she stood before the white haired woman. "What I want to do mother! I'm heading out to sea with Luffy, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"This is insane, Robin!" The mother cried as she stepped toward her daughter, who stepped back as she approached. "You don't have any supplies, no map or compass; you're just hopping into a boat and hoping for the best! Do you have any idea how reckless that is?!"

"Luffy and I will get by!" She stubbornly stated. She knew that her mother was right, but she was in no mood for admitting it.

"Luffy!" Makino stepped up next to chastise the straw hatted boy. "I thought you were going to wait until you were seventeen, just like your brothers did! Was that a lie, or did you feel like breaking that promise all of a sudden?!"

A guilty expression made its way on the rubber boy's face. He hopped out of the boat and back on to dry land, making his way over to the three females. "It's not like that! Robin wanted to go after those pono-thingies, and said that her mom wasn't going to let her, so I said that I would and…and…" The boy's lower lip began to quiver as he suddenly fell to his knees and clutched his head in anguish. "I'm sorry, Ace! I'm sorry, Sabo! I just wanted to help Robin!"

Makino sighe at the boy's blubbering, while Olivia and Robin continued to have their discussion. "Robin, you are not going out on that boat!"

"Then what am I allowed to do mother?!" Robin raged. "I can't read, I can't study, I can't go out to sea! I can't see Luffy ever again! **_WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!"_**

"I want you…" Olivia sighed as she let go of her building frustration. "I want you…to be happy."

Robin's scowl softened at this, while Luffy and Makino looked on from afar.

"Robin…I'm sorry…" The mother confessed. "I'm sorry that I said those horrible things back at home…but you have to understand, I was scared. Scared of you leaving, and…" She couldn't bare to say it, but everyone knew what he was talking about. She gave another small sigh before continuing. "I know now that there is nothing I can do to stop you…no way to stop you from following in my footsteps…" She then gave a frown. "I don't ant to lose you, Robin…not like this…not in anyway…but if this is how you want to live your life…I won't stand in your way anymore."

"Mother…" Robin spoke wistfully.

Olivia raised her arms, moisture coming to her eyes. "I love you, Robin…please don't hate me."

Robin felt her eyes begin to well up. She made a desperate dash to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. "Mother…Mama…I could never hate you!"

The mother and daughter shared their embrace for a good long while. Makino wiped a stray tear from her face, while Luffy was bawling massive globs of moisture from his eyes.

The Nico family had faced a decisive disagreement, and thankfully came out the other end still in one piece.

"Well…now that that's all taken care of…" Makino spoke up, gaining the other's attention.

Once all eyes were on her, she let out massive squeal of delight, making Luffy and the Nico's throw their hands up to their ears to block out the pain. She squealed so loud in fact, she managed to scare off a number of wild animals that had been gathering around the four.

 ** _"YOU AND LUFFY ARE TOGETHER!"_** She pulled Robin and Luffy by both of their hands and grabbed them up in a huge group hug. "I knew you two were going to be an cute couple! I just knew it!"

Luffy and Robin bashfully laughed along with the bartender, as Olivia chuckled herself at the fact.

* * *

"What was that noise?!" A random bandit asked in a panicked state.

"Sounded like a giant bat!" Another chewed on his finger nails in fear.

"I hope Makino and Olivia are okay!" Another worried out loud.

Dadan simply kept looking up at the stars, blowing a puff of smoke from her massive lips.

"It's about time, you knuckle-heads…"

* * *

For the rest of the time Luffy and Robin spent of Dawn Island, they threw themselves into preparing for their future.

Luffy devoted most of his time to training in the Mt. Corvo forest, fighting with any and every wild animal that was bigger than him. He would train his devil fruit powers in the A,S,L,R Pirates old fighting ring, coming up with more and more crazy attacks that were so bizarre yet devastating, the animals of the jungle grew a sense of staying as far away from the rubber boy as much as they could. He was more of an animal than they were!

Robin finally got to study the ponoglyphs, along with the help of her dear mother. The two would spend many days and nights looking through Olivia's old journals and notes on what she had found about the ancient slabs of stone. The dark haired girl also made sure to put in time on practicing her devil fruit powers, finding the right combination of arms she could sprout for certain situations, and finding the right balance to turn the tide of a fight in her favor.

Finally, the last few moths had past. Luffy was now seventeen.

The young couple's journey was about to begin.

* * *

Nico Robin was waiting for Luffy on her usual stump, as she realized, for the very last time. She had a small satchel flung over her shoulder, showing that she was ready to leave as he was.

Dadan's gang of bandits watched from the inside of their shack, all crying silent tears of having to watch the dark haired girl and the straw hatted boy go. The bandit leader herself seemed to not care either way, looking off at a random corner of the cabin.

Soon enough, Luffy came out of the brush, a heavily packed backpack hanging from his shoulders. He spotted Robin in a heartbeat, and a huge smile broke out across his face.

"Robin!" He waved to her.

The girl's face lit up with her own smile as she waved back to him. "Hello, Luffy!"

The two met in front of the cabin, beaming with eagerness to start their journey. The two shared a quick kiss, which made the gang behind them weep all the more, before looking back at each other.

"Ready to go?" Luffy asked.

"Ready." Robin nodded.

The two smiled at each other before looking back toward the bandit shack.

"Bye, Guys!" Luffy called out, waving his arms over his head.

"We'll miss you!" Robin followed with much gentler wave.

All the bandit's waterworks were now on full blast. **_"WAAHHH~!" WE'LL MISS YOU TOO~!"_**

The only one who didn't say anything was Dadan, who looked back for a second before grunting and looking back at her corner.

"Hey, Dadan!" Luffy cried out as he ran over to the cabin's front doorway, managing to get the grumpy woman's attention.

"Huh?" She cohered back.

"I still hate mountain bandits!" Was his declaration.

"WHO THE HECK CARES?!" She roared back.

"But…your pretty cool!" Luffy finished with a snicker.

Dadan pulled out a handkerchief and began to bawl her eyes out, avoiding eye contact as she did so. **_"Just get out of here already, you rotten little turd~!"_**

"Ms. Dadan?" Robin was the one to speak up next, who came up from behind Luffy in a much more polite fashion.

Dadan came out of her crying fit as she put back on her tough-woman act. "What do you want, girlie?!"

The dark haired girl gave a deep bow. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, and for looking after Luffy and his brothers as you have."

Dadan blew her off. "Yeah, whatever…"

"And, if it's all right with you…" The girl shyly interjected. "…may I call you, my 'Aunt Dadan'?"

The tears were back as soon as Robin finished her question. **_"You can call me whatever you like, it makes no difference to me~! No get out of here, both of you~!"_**

Robin buckled warmly at the bandit woman's behaviour before turning around and leaving, following Luffy's pace as they made their way to Foosha Village's harbor.

* * *

The whole town had gathered together to see the two soon to be pirate lovebirds seal off. The young couple had been given a small dingy, courtesy of one of the townsfolk. The straw hatted boy and dark haired girl were sat in the center of the boat, saying their final farewells to everyone.

"Be safe out there, Luffy!" Makino called from up above the two. "You too, Robin!"

"If you two really do this, you'll never be allowed back on this island!" The mayor grumpily spoke up.

"Oh, hush you!" The green haired woman slapped Woopslap on the arm, earning a grumble of disapproval from the man.

"Take care of yourself, Robin." Olivia had knelt down to speak personally to her daughter.

"I will, Mama, don't worry." The dark haired girl answered back.

"I'm your mother, dear," Olivia place a hand on Robin's shoulder. "It's my job to worry about you."

Robin smiled, and the mother and daughter shared one last embrace. Olivia then looked up from her daughter and aimed her sight to the straw hatted boy. "Make sure my Robin is safe out there, Luffy, and take care."

"No problem, Ms. Olivia!" Luffy beamed a toothy smile, earning a small chuckled from the mother.

Once the Nico's broke off, Olivia stood back up, holding back as much of her tears as she could, with Robin wiping away a few of her own. The girl turned to her man, a smile taking place on her face. "All set, Luffy?"

"One last thing…" He stated as he stood up straight and put his fists in the air. "ACE! SABO! We're heading out now! We'll see you guys again soon! Wish me and Robin luck!"

Some of the townsfolk were confused to the boy's sudden words. "The heck was that, Luffy? Some sort of good luck chant?"

"Nah!" The boy shook his head. "Just a promise me and Robin made!" The dark haired girl chuckled warmly at his answer.

"You ever heard of an 'Ace' or 'Sabo', before?" One citizen asked another.

"Nope, can't say I have." The other shook his head.

"Alright, Robin…" Luffy announced ecstatically. **_"Let's shove off!"_**

Once the rope was untied from the harbor, the small vessel was off, and Luffy and Robin were heading out to the Fossha bay's opening. The townsfolk waved them off and sang out farewell's. Olivia was teary eyed, but managed to wave her daughter off, Making holding her with one arm and doing the same.

When the two's small boat was nearing the clearing out to sea, a massive explosion of water erupted before them, taking Robin by surprise, but Luffy was as calm as could be. Once the vapor of the blast evaporated, what was left before them was a humungous eel monster, with razor sharp teeth, and blood red eyes.

"Well, look who it is…" Luffy said to himself.

"It's the serpent of the bay!" A random citizen cried out.

"Robin!" Olivia panicked, nearly jumping into the water to save her daughter. She was held back by the town's bartender, and when Olivia looked back to force her way out of her grasp, she saw a worried expression on Makino's face, but also that the green haired wanted to see what would happen next. Perplexed by the woman holding her's behavior, Olivia looked back out to where Robin and Luffy were still facing the massive creature.

"Luffy…?" Robin was shaken by the sudden appearance by the giant serpent, but she was more worried about how Luffy was doing. If she remembered Luffy's story from when he first met Shanks clearly, then this had to be the beast that took off the pirate captain's arm when he saved Lufy's life.

"Stay back, Robin…" The straw hatted boy guided his hand back to the girl behind him, electing her to stay in place. "I got this…"

The serpent looked down on the small vessel, growling in anticipation for a morning snack.

"I was hoping to run into you again…" Luffy looked the monster in the eye, and took hold of his right wrist with his left. "This one's for Shanks…"

Luffy shot his fist back behind him, the rubber limb stretching all the way back to the Foosha harbor, where it came close to touching the still gathered crowd.

 ** _"GUM-GUM…"_**

The master dived for the little boat, roaring in glee, until Luffy pulled his fist back, and blasted the beast right in its jaw, shattering its teeth and sending its slithery form up out of the water and floating high in the air, knocked out on impact.

 ** _"PISTOL!"_**

The crowd at the harbor went balistic, cheering for the boy as they watched the beast fall back into the ocean. Making laughed in pride and thankfulness of Luffy's safety and strength, while Olivia was holding her hand up to her face in relief and amazement at her daughter's safety and the boy's power. If she needed any proof that Robin was in good hands, this was it.

Robin watched as the sephann fell down around her and Luffy, the crashing of the beast back into the water acting like a makeshift fireworks display for his first conquest and the start of their journey. Luffy was laughing his head off, glad to have finally payed the sea monster back for what he did years ago.

The two looked to each other and broke out into laughter. After a while, as their boat finally made its way out of the bay, Robin spoke up."I'm going to do it, Luffy…"

The straw hatted boy looked back at the dark haired woman in curiosity.

 ** _"I'm Going to find the true history!"_**

Luffy nicked in pride at his girl's declaration, and stood up from his spot as he cried out to the sky.

 ** _"And I'm going to be…THE PIRATE KING!"_**


	12. Everybody Starts Somewhere

**_Everybody_** **_Starts Somewhere_**

"Well…This is a spot of bother…"

"I know, right?! That is one **_huge_** whirlpool!"

That was the dilemma the pirate couple were facing at that moment. Only a few hours after setting sail for their dreams, the two come across a whirlpool big enough to swallow their tiny vessel with ease.

"Well, now what are we gonna do?!" In a situation like this, Luffy would probably hop into a barrel and hope for the best, but since Robin was here, he needed to come up with a plan that would help both him and her from getting sucked underwater.

Robin looked around for anything that could help them in their dire situation. Suddenly, she spotted something. "Luffy! Over there!"

The straw hatted boy looked to where she was pointing, and spotted a large sailing ship opposite from where their little dingy was across the whirlpool. "Good eye, Robin!"

"Think you can get us over there?" She wondered as she kept her eye on the vessel.

"One way to find out!" Luffy declared as he took hold of Robin with an arm around her was it, and slung his other limb as far as he could. He was able to snag on to the side of the ship with ease. He grinned in triumph as he turned to Robin, giving her a look that said 'hold on'. "Gum-Gum Rocket!"

With a swift motion, he and his girl shot out of the boat before it began going down the whirlpool's stream, and soared through the air until they made it to the vessel, Luffy making sure to catch Robin in both of his arms on their way down.

"Why, thank you, Luffy," She smiled sweetly. Luffy giggled as he placed the girl gently on her feet. The two then walked away to explore the ship, while two sailors who were on break came back and made their way to where the young couple was just a few moments ago.

"Ah! That hit the spot!" A portly sailor said to the lanky sailor beside him.

"Tell me about it! Our chef makes the best gru-WOAH! Look at that whirlpool!" The tall sailor exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey, is that a sailboat?!" The stout one spotted Luffy and Robin's previous vessel, still being dragged under by the strong current.

"Hope nobody was in there…" The tall one panicked. He then shot his eyes up to the look out point of the ship. "Hey! What are you doing up there?! Didn't you see that boat go under?!"

Stirred from his slumber, the sailor on look out yawned before cracking an eye open. "…See what? Huh?"

"A ship just got sucked into that whirlpool, and you were napping the whole time!" The tall sailor barked.

"Whate are you talking about?!" The look out began scouring the horizon. "I don't see any…thing…"

It was at that point that the look out did see something; a bright pink ship, with a skull and cross-bones for a flag.

* * *

Luffy pushed tow large doors open, letting him and his girl in to see a wide open ballroom, with white pillars acting as decretive support and golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Men and women who were clearly of high living qualities, were scattered about the hall, talking amongst themselves, or dancing to the string quartet who were set in one of the corners.

"Hey! It's a party!" Luffy exclaimed in delight.

"This must be a cruise ship for nobles." Robin mused out loud, seeing the fancy garbs the guests were draped in.

She was taken out of her thoughts by Luffy grabbing her hand. "I'm famished! C'mon, let's go grab a bite!"

The dark haired girl chuckled in agreement as she let her man lead her to the hor d'ouvre table.

Unbeknownst to them, across the ballroom stood a slender young girl, with pixie short ginger hair wearing a flowing tan color dress, looking out the large window of the ship's stern, a distant look in her eyes. A tap on her shoulder brought her away from the view to see a young nobleman wearing a bright green button shirt, holding his hand out to her.

"May I have this dance?" He asked politely.

The girl gave a small shrug, then smiled at the man as she gave him her hand, believing that a spot of dancing will help take her mind off things.

Back with the pirate couple, Luffy was sniffing at a strange blue goo on a spoon, going so far as to give it a taste lick. Some patrons of the party next to him grimaced at his behavior and moved away from the grotesque sight.

Luffy blanched at the foreign taste. "What is this blue stuff? Tastes like its off!"

"That would be caviar, Luffy." Robin deduced for him. "Salted fish eggs."

"Fish eggs?!" Luffy dropped the spoon as if it had become red hot. "Gross! Why would anyone wanna eat this stuff?! And why's everything so small?! I need more than this to fill me up! **_And why don't they have any meat?!"_**

Robin couldn't help but chuckle at the rubber boy's ranting. Luffy looked at her as she chuckled, then out over at the dancing couples on the ballroom floor, swaying around and enjoying themselves. Luffy looked back at Robin, and grew a little shy.

"U-um…" The dark haired girl looked to him, seeing him shuffle his feet and look away in nervousness. "Would you…like to dance…Robin?"

The girl blushed at the request. She turned to see the rest of the guests dancing before back to him. She smiled kindly as she gave him her hand. "I would be delighted."

Luffy smiled wide at this, took his girl's hand and guided her to the dance floor. The two interlocked with Luffy's hand on Robin's hip, and her hand on his shoulder. Robin knew how bad Luffy was at dancing, and made sure to go slow for the both of them.

"You can just follow my lead, Luffy." She put his mind at ease, to which he sighed with gratitude.

"Thanks, Robin!" He smiled.

The pirate couple gently made their way around the dance floor, occasionally looking into each others eyes. The both silently agreed that this was quite the romantic start to their journey.

As they continued to dance, Luffy accidentally bumped into someone behind him, nearly making them stumble. "Oh! Sorry!"

The ones that they had bumped into were the ginger haired girl and the nobleman she was dancing with.

"Oh, no, its alight!" The red head chuckled passively, but her dance partner wasn't so forgiving.

"Would you mind watching where you're going?" He growled out.

"He said he was sorry," Robin spoke up for her man, a dark gleam in her eyes. "What more do you want?"

The man felt a shiver run down his spine at the glare the dark haired girl gave him, while Nami was perplexed by the odd duo she had bumped into.

"I-I don't remember seeing you two boarding this ship." Apparantly, the nobleman had found his courage once more. "You wouldn't happen to be stow-aways, would you?!"

"Well, we kind of are-!" The straw hatted boy's mouth was covered immediately by his girl's hand, the girl clearing her throat to help him grasp the situation. The nobleman ground his teeth at the insolence these two strangers were showing, while the red head kept wondering who these two even were.

Away from the small scuffle, the captain of the ship, with a thick black mustache and wearing a crisp white uniform, was chatting with a few of the guests.

"I noticed a rather large whirlpool close to the ship outside," A noble woman voiced her worry. "Won't the ship be pulled in?"

"Nonsense!" The captain put the woman's mind at ease. "This ship is the finest of its kind! A little whirlpool like that won't do a thing to us! I guarantee this ship can handle anything!"

* * *

"Hey, what's the matter?!" The portly sailor called up to the look out. "You fall asleep again or something?"

 ** _"P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p…"_** The look out couldn't find the words quick enough to warn the others, as the bright pink ship opened fire in their direction with a blast of its cannons. **_"PIRATES OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!"_**

Right after that, the cannon fire landed close to the cruise ship, blasting water around the vessel, clearly as a warning shot. The force of the blasts were so powerful, they managed to rock the ship violently among the waves.

Inside the ballroom, the guests fell with the sudden motion of the ship, falling to the floor and screaming in surprise and panic. Luffy managed to stay on his feet and grabbed hold of Robin, steadying her before she fell. The nobleman who was scolding them before was now quaking in fear, while the girl behind him was straining in pain.

"You're standing on my foot…!" She growled under her breath.

As the bight pink pirate ship continued to bombarde the cruise ship with warning shots, a gravely yet feminine voice spoke up. "Coby?!"

"Y-yes, Ms. Alvida?!" A small quivering boy, with pink hair and thick dark blue specs, cried out instantly at the mention of his name.

"Who's the most beautiful woman on all the seas?!" The deep voice asked.

"T-that would be you, Ms. Alvida, pirate, mam!" Was the boy's instant reply.

The voice began to chuckle, then cackle in glee. The voice belonged to an enormous, middle aged woman, who was as big as a house, and as stout as a tree stump. In her wrinkled hands, she slammed a massive spike club that was close to being the same size as her down onto the deck floor before her.

"Right you are!" She agreed, showing a smile with her lips covered in a thick, unappealing lather of lipstick. "And only the most beautiful woman on the seas gets to have whatever valuable trinkets that floating jewelry box has to offer!"

"O-of course, Ms. Alvida!" Coby agreed in an instant once more, like a beaten puppy doing whatever it took to not get punished again.

"So, we gonna raid that ship now, or what, captain?!" A largely built pirate grinned at the notion of some action.

"Of course!" The overweight woman lifted her club in one hand with ease as she pointed at the vessel before them. "Let's bring about and have some fun, boys!"

The crew behind her cheered, ready to cause some chaos. Coby forced a smile, but felt like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.

* * *

Back on the cruise ship, the vessel gave another violent tip to the other side, making Luffy and Robin land against a vacant table.

"What's going on?!" The straw hatted boy asked aloud.

"If I had to guess, this ship is about to be raided by pirates!" The dark haired girl deduced. The straw hatted boy then place his hands on her shoulders, bringing her close to look her in the eye, with a serious expression across his face

"Robin!" Luffy spoke determinedly. "We gotta get out of here!"

The young archeologist looked to her man, wondering if he had some sort of plan.

"If those pirates find the pantry of this place, I'm gonna starve to death!" Was the rubber boy's reasoning.

Robin could have thought less of him, but this was why she fell in love with him. "Alright, Luffy! Let's go!"

As the two snuck out of a side door, the red headed girl had also pulled a disappearing act of her own.

* * *

The bright pink pirate vessel had made it to the cruise ship and run across its side, positioned for the opposing crew to latch on to it with a multitude of grappling hooks and draw it in closer. As soon as it was in boarding distance, the Alvida pirate crew stormed the ship, ready to make a profit of the innocence…

All except Coby.

"Coby!" Alvida yelled out, startling the poor boy, who was shaking on the spot with a rope in his hand. "What are you waiting for?! Get over there!"

"B-but…I don't think I can make it…" The small child spoke up.

"I'm I hearing things, or did you just talk back to me?!" The large woman inquired as she closed in on him.

"N-no, Lady Alvida! I swear I-!" Cody shut his flapping mouth when the pirate woman was towering above him.

"GET GOING, ALREADY!" Alvida decided to give the boy a boost across the ship, with a swift kick up Coby's backside, sending him flying toward the ship, yelling in pain.

When Coby made a rather painful landing, he suddenly had to move when Alvida came flying at him right after. He barely had enough time to dodge before the rotund woman landed and crashed into the ship much like the cannon balls she had been firing before hand.

Coby ran away screaming in fear, heading down into the cruise ship's interior.

He ran through the endless corridors of the ship's insides, until he found a vacant room and ran inside it, panting for breath as he stopped for a moment.

"That…was a close one…!" He gasped though strained breaths.

"Well, look who it is…" A voice brought the boy out of his heavy breathing. Turning around, he saw that three of Alvida's crew were walking in to the same room as him, all with cruel smirks on their faces. "Our favorite little cabin boy!" The shortest of the three insulted the boy.

"Sneaking off to hide from the captain again, Coby?" Another one of the three, the tallest of them jeered, enjoying the sight of watching Coby squirm.

"N-no, not at all!" The small boy defended himself weakly. "Just…looking to see if anything was worth taking around here! Pirate's life and all, you know?!"

"Yeah, we know…" The last of the three, a large husky one stepped forward, cracking his knuckles in a show of force. "We know that this isn't the first time you've ran and hid on a raid before! Wonder what captain Alvida would do to you if she found out?"

"P-please don't tell her!" The boy begged, nearly falling to his knees as tears came to his eyes. "I'll do whatever you want, just please don't tell her!"

The three pirates laughed, enjoying the privilege of making their cabin boy cry.

Suddenly, a doorway between Coby and the large pirate swung open, slamming into the pirate's face out of nowhere. This took the boy and the other two pirates by surprise, with all three dropping their jaws in unison.

Stepping out of the doorway came a straw hatted boy, patting his now enlarged belly, with a satisfied smile on his face. As he patted his inflated stomach, he soon gave a rather large burp.

"Ahh~! That hit the spot!" He exclaimed happily, until two sword blades were pointed in his face. Looking to the owners of the weapons, he saw two pirates looking mad as all heck.

"What?" The boy asked simply.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?!" The tall man barked.

"YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THAT!" The short man seethed, only to be interrupted by an incredibly attractive girl coming out from the door next. Both the men and the small boy found themselves stunned by the beauty before them.

"What is it, Luffy?" She asked quizzically.

"These guys are mad at me, and I don't know why." He pointed to the fuming pirate duo.

"Perhaps it has something to do with that gentleman down there." She pointed down at the unconscious pirate on the floor, who had a dazed smile on his face.

Luffy looked down to the knocked out man and realized what was wrong. "Oh! Sorry about that! Didn't see him!"

"Oh, you're gonna be sorry, all right!" The short pirate pulled back his blade, his tall partner doing the same, each making ready to run the two through.

Back in the ballroom, all the guests had been rounded up and were surrounded by Alvida and her crew.

"All right, folks, you know how this works!" The large lady ordered smugly. "Give us everything that glitters, and that's all we'll take! Try anything funny, and we start taking lives!"

As Alvida's crew snickers at the scared faces of the nobles, up on the stands, the red head girl was hiding behind one of the supporting columns. With a grin and a gleam in her eye, she pulled her dress off in one swift motion and was now dawning a motley pirate outfit.

Sneaking off from the crowd sized shake-down, the girl made her way to one of the grappling hooks still clinging onto the ship and made her way across. Once she was on board Alvida's galleon, she began searching the whole ship for what she was looking for.

Coby covered his eyes, not wishing to see the bloodshed about to happen. As he did, what sounded like a flinging rubber band went off. He dared to open his eyes and saw that the boy and girl were fine, the two pirates were now weaponless and afraid, and they're blades had been embedded into the ceiling above them.

"watch what you're doing with those!" Luffy scolded the bewildered duo. "You could have cut Robin!"

"W-w-w-w-w…" The two now quivering crooks stuttered. "W-who are you?!"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" He pulled the girl to his side close. "And this is my girl, Robin!"

"A pleasure to meet you!" The dark haired girl giggled.

Meeting the incredibly odd couple became too much for the pirates, so the scooped up the unconscious cremate and bailed from the room, close to crying as they fled. "Lady Alvida! Lady Alivida!"

Luffy and Robin chuckled as they watched them go, until the straw hatted boy's stomach began to rumble. "Aw! I'm hungry again!"

"There's still plenty of stock left in the pantry, Luffy." Robin advised.

"Sweet! Let's eat!" The boy led Robin toward the pantry once more, the girl smiling as she let him lead the way.

All the while, Coby was watching the two who had completely ignored him this whole time, until he decided to speak up. "W-Wait a minute!"

The odd couple stopped before heading in, finally taking notice of the small boy.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked quizzically.

"How long have you been there?" Robin was bewildered with how the bespectacled boy had gone unnoticed to even her this whole time.

"M-my name's Coby…" The pink haired boy introduced himself shyly. "A-And if I were you… I'd get out of here while I still could!"

"How come?" Luffy titled his head in confusion.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?!" The boy seemed like he was close to wetting himself. Do you have any idea who's gonna come after you?!"

* * *

"Where is Coby, that little rat?!" The rotund pirate woman stomped up and down the deck of the now captured cruise ship. "I didn't see him helping out with the loot! If he's run off to hide again somewhere, I'm gonna-!"

 ** _"LADY ALVIDA!"_** The large lady didn't get to finish as three of her men, one of them out cold, came barging out of a deck hatch, the two carrying him close to tears.

"What's up with you two?!" She bellowed.

"T-there's some kinda m-monster down here!" One of the panicking pirates cried out, pointing his finger down below.

"With a cute girl with him, too!" The other chimed in, only to throw his hands up to his mouth as he realized what he just said.

"Cute?" Alvida whispered, making the rest of her crew take a step back. "So she's cute, is she?!" The crew all gulped. **_"Cuter than me, then, is she?!"_** She clasped her club tightly in anger and began to raise it up. The two who arrived began scrambling back into the hole, leaving their friend to wake up. **_"More beautiful than me then, is she?!"_**

"Wha…what's going on?" The pot-bellied pirate asked innocently.

 ** _"DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANOTHER GIRL'S MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN ME!"_**

Before the bloated pirate man could figure out his surroundings, the much more bloated pirate woman threw her club right at him, and sent him flying off the ship like a ball struck by a bat, far off into the distance where he became barely a speck before disappearing.

Alvida was seething with rage, breathing heavily to calm herself. Unfortunately, it didn't work. ** _"Anyone that say's another woman is prettier than me ever again, I'll give them that, but worse! GOT IT?!"_**

"Y-yes, Lady Alvida!" Her loyalty frightened crew agreed in unison.

"Now…" Alvida stomped over to her club before picking it back up and placing it on her shoulder. **_"Let's get a look of this 'pretty girl' that took my men's eyes off me!"_**

* * *

"So, if I may reiterate…"

Luffy, Robin and Coby were now back in the cruise ship's pantry, with the straw hatted boy snacking on a bushel of apples, Robin sitting beside him with one in her hands, and Coby sitting on the floor, currently in awe at how much Luffy was putting away.

"You boarded what you thought was your fishing boat, but it turned out to be a pirate long boat belonging to Lady Alvida and her pirate crew, and have been forced to be their cabin boy ever since?" The dark haired girl listed off the story that Coby had told them.

The spectacled boy was still watching Luffy eat more than his weight in food, but managed to snap out of it. "Uh…yeah, that's pretty much it…"

Luffy swallowed a mouthful before he said anything. "Why don't you just stand up to her, or run away if you hate it so much?"

"Are you kidding?!" Coby cried out in outrage. "If Lady Alivida caught wind of me even thinking about making a run for it, I'll be on the business end of her club!"

"So you're dead if you do, and dead if you don't!" Luffy began to laugh, only to get nudged in the sides by Robin, who gave him an unimpressed glare. Luffy immediately stopped, while Robin looked back the small pink haired boy with pity.

"Coby," she spoke softly, making the boy look at her in slight awe. It had been awhile since anyone had talked to him in such a gentle manner. "I know what its like to be surrounded by people who mistreat you. But what helped me to survive those awful days was focusing on what I wanted to do with my life; my dream."

Coby's eyes widened slightly at her words.

"Do you have a dream, Coby?" Robin inquired.

The boy shuffled in his spot, as if wrestling with himself on weather or not he should speak.

"Well…" He finally found the courage to pen his mouth. "I've always wanted…to be a marine…"

"A marine?" Luffy asked through another mouthful of apple.

"YES!" Coby shot up from the floor, clutching his fist in a passion that had been long suppressed. "I've always wanted to be a marine! Beating up pirates, and saving lives! It's been my dream, ever since I was a kid!"

"But, you're still a kid…" Luffy pointed out, earning another elbow to the side from Robin.

Coby was beaming at this point, he hadn't felt like this in what felt like forever. However, his newfound energy was short-lived, as he sank to the floor in depression once more. "But that's never gonna happen…If I don't even have the guts to stand up to Alvida, how could I ever become a marine?"

Robin and Luffy looked at each other, appearing to have a mental conversation over the boy. They then both gave a smile, as Luffy moved himself over to Coby and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Coby?"

The spectacled boy looked up at him.

"Do you know what I wanna be?"

The pink haired child shook his head.

"I wanna be the Pirate King!" The straw hatted boy announced proudly.

Coby blanched. **_"P-p-p-pirate…King?!"_**

Yep!" Luffy nodded.

"You?!" Coby pointed a finger.

"Uh-huh!" Luffy nodded again.

"S-so…you guys…?" Coby switched his pointed finger between him and the dark haired girl.

"Are pirates, too!" Luffy smiled as he took Robin in his one arm, the girl draping herself on her man happily.

Coby looked like he was about to faint. Luffy and Robin looked at each other once again, wondering if it was something they said that made the boy freeze up as he had. The straw hatted boy reached his hand out, about to shake the pink haired child out of his stupor. "Uh, Coby?"

The boy suddenly shot up from the floor once again, taking the odd couple by surprise. "You actually want to be the Pirate King?!"

"Yes!" Luffy was getting tired of saying the same thing.

"But, but that means going to the Grand Line! The Pirate's Graveyard!" Coby are more and more frantic the more he talked. "You'd have to go through the navy, the sea-kings, and any other pirate that wants to go after that treasure! Not to mention any of the other crazy things that happen out there! You can't go to the Grand Line! You'll get yourself killed! It's impossible! You'll never make it-!"

Coby's ranting was interrupted by Luffy clocking over the head with his fist.

"Luffy!" Robin gasped. She was only ignored as Luffy came out of her arms and stood over the now groaning boy.

"Why'd you hit me?!" Coby was close to tears. He'd never been hit that hard, not even by Alvida.

"Seemed like the only way to make you stop." Was the straw hatted boy's honest answer.

Coby could only sigh at this, his defeatist nature getting the better of him.

"Listen, Coby…" Coby turned his head up to the boy above him, Luffy taking his hat off and looking at it with a far away look in his eye.

"Becoming the Pirate King is my dream." He stated matter of factly. "And I know how dangerous it is, but I still wanna give it a shot; the best shot I can manage. And if I don't make it, then I can say I at least tried."

Coby was now stunned in light awe at Luffy's words.

Robin smiled as she too stood up and walked toward her man. "It's the same for me. Have you ever heard of the Ponoglpyhs, Coby?"

Coby shook his head in silent attention.

"Well, they say that the Ponoglphs are ancient stone slabs that have the missing history of the world on them," Robin continued. "My dream is to read them, and find that history, and hopefully share it with the world. Much like Luffy's goal, mine has many dangers that will try to stop me, but I want to do it anyway."

"But why?" Coby asked, hanging off of the dark haired girl's words.

"Well…" Robin gave it some thought before smiling. "Simply…because I want to."

Luffy grin at his girl's words, wrapping his arm around her was it and pulling her in to give her a kiss on the cheek. Coby blushed slightly at this public show of affection, the act bringing him out of his awe.

"Well, that's all we can say, really." Robin concluded for the both of them.

"Yeah! And I'm good and full, now!" Luffy patted his belly. The odd couple then began making their way to the panty door. "See you around, Coby! Good luck getting out of your miserable life!"

"Luffy!" Robin chided in a lecturing tone.

"You know what…?" The small voice stopped the both of them, making them look back to the spectacled boy who was still down on the floor. "…I'm gonna do it!"

"Do what?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm gonna become a marine!" Coby announced, his timid nature seeming to disappear completely as he shot up from the floor. "I'm gonna get out of here, find a boat, sail to the first navy base I find, and beg the to let me be a marine!"

Luffy and Robin gave the boy a small smile, proud of him for taking the first step toward being a little braver.

"And when I do become a marine," Coby clutched his fists. "The first pirate I

m gonna hunt down is that no-good, big, fat, ugly old whale of a pirate-!"

Before Coby could finish that sentence, the ceiling above them caved in, making the boy scramble for safety, while Luffy shielded Robin from any spare debris.

Out of the dust and destruction, a massive figure began to take shape, revealing itself to be Lady Alvida, looking mad as could be. "There you are, you little pest! So you were hiding out on another raid again!"

Coby's bravery from before disappeared in an instant, turning back into the stuttering, scared little boy he was before. "N-no, Lady Alvida! I w-was looking for s-some food to bring back! I swear!"

The rotund woman ignored the boy for now as she took in the sight of the two strangers with the pink haired boy before her. She sneered at the girl. "So, you must be the pretty little thing that took my men's eyes off me!" She took a moment to look her up and down. "Please! I see prettier every time I look in the mirror!"

Robin didn't even attempt to dignify that accusation with a retort, not liking the spitefulness in the woman's eyes. Alvida then looked over to the boy beside her. "And you must be that 'monster' my boys were blubbering about?!" She looked back up from the hole she made. "This string-bean is what you were so afraid of?! You made it sound like that pirate hunter Zoro showed up!"

"Zoro?" Luffy questioned to himself.

Alvida looked back to the young couple with a growl. "Whatever! None of it's gonna matter once I pound you two into paste!" She grinned in malice. "But before that…COBY!"

The pink haired boy flinched at the loud mention of his name. "Y-yes, L-Lady A-Alvida?!" Hearing the fear back in the boy's voice made Robin dislike the large pirate lady before her all the more.

"Tell these scrawny little no-body's who the most beautiful woman on the seas is?!" Alvida ordered as she bounced her dry, knotted black locks of hair with one hand, as if modeling for a picture.

"W-well…" Coby was still stuttering, the sudden entrance of his worst fear shaking him to his core. "I-it's, uh…"

"Oh, that's easy!" Luffy piped up, pulling the girl beside him into a tight embrace. "Robin!"

Everybody gathered around the odd couple could only stop and stare at the boy and his sudden declaration.

"L-Luffy?!" Robin threw her hands up to her face to cover her blushing cheeks.

"What? I'm just telling the truth!" The straw hatted boy went on, proceeding to throw both his arms around her as he squeezed her affectionately. "You're the cutest, prettiest, most beautiful girl in the whole wide world!"

"Luffy! Stop it~!" Robin attempted weakly, but was at this point was gushing in happiness at Luffy's praising. "You're embarrassing me~!"

As the two shared their tender moment, Coby found himself blushing a little, darting his eyes at anything that wasn't the odd couple's public display of closeness. The pirates looking down into the hole raised an eyebrow each, looking at each other with quizzical expressions. Alvida was grinding her teeth in frustration, jealousy thick in her eyes as she took in the affection taking place before her.

As the straw hatted boy continued to hold Robin close, he then had a thought, and stuck his finger out at Alvida.

"Wait, Coby, is this that big, fat, ugly pirate you were talking about?"

Every jaw of every person around the young lovers dropped.

Coby was sweating bullets, aghast at what the straw hatted boy just said.

One of the pirates above was shaking in his boots. **_"He didn't?!"_**

Another swallowed a lump of fear in his throat. " ** _He did…"_**

Alvida bagan to growl under her breath.

She clutched her club tight in anger.

She ground her teeth in brimming rage.

Veins began to strain in her forehead as her fury kept on building.

Then soon enough, like a kettle on a stove, Alvida hit her boiling point, and blew her top.

With a mighty roar, she swung her club high into the air, before bringing it crashing down on where Luffy and Robin were.

However, Luffy was too fast for her, as he held Robin tight to himself and dodged out of the way of the massive mace.

Luffy landed next to Coby, who could only gape at the boy's inhuman reflexes. Robin only giggled at the spectacled boy's perplexmxent.

"Time to go!" Luffy announced, grabbing Coby by the back of his shirt, and leaping high into the air, and out of the hole. Alvida watched them go, baring her teeth like a rabid wild animal.

Once Luffy, Robin and Coby were out of the hole, they landed before the now baffled crew of Lady Alvida. Luffy gave the startled thugs a grin before letting go of Robin and Coby.

One brave soul of Alvida's crew charged forward, swinging his blade down at Luffy.

Luffy dodged the blade, bending back to give the man a vicious headbutt. How the straw hatted boy didn't give himself a concussion from that blow, Coby didn't know.

Luffy then sensed a man coming up behind him, and sucker-punched him before he could do anything.

Four enemy pirates decided to strike all at once, diving for the boy in unison.

Luffy's reflexes allowed him to jump out of the way at the last second, as if in a mocking manner for them being too slow to keep up with him.

Out of nowhere, a lone enemy left from the balcony above the straw hatted boy, his blade crept to split Luffy in two.

Almost predictably, Luffy dodged the oncoming attack by merely leaning to one side, as the pirate landed to the ground with no success of his attack.

Before he could do anything else, Luffy grabbed him by his head, and flung him into his other crew mates, bowling them over into a heap of themselves.

Coby was awestruck with Luffy's abilities, while Robin had a proud smile on her face.

But just as Luffy was beginning to enjoy himself, a large mob of Alvida's men appeared behind him, looking ready to tear him apart.

"You can't gang up one one guy!" Luffy argued as he made a run for it, the fleet of men charging after him.

Coby was frantic of how Luffy was going to get out of this one, while Robin merely smiled knowingly to herself.

Luffy past one of the ship's masts and quickly grabbed hold of it, and kept on running.

When the enemy crew behind him followed, they stopped and stared at the oddity taking place before them.

Luffy's arm had stretched as far as he had run, like rubber.

Looking between the straw hatted boy and his elongated arm, the pirates soon caught on to what was going on.

Alvida for herself, managed to pull herself out of the hole she made in the ship's deck, just in time to see Luffy pull off his next trick.

"…Got'ya!" He grinned.

Alvida's crew ran the opposite direction, their anger turned to utter fright. But that just set them up for the straw hatted boy.

 ** _"Gum-Gum…"_** Luffy declared, setting himself up for something that none of the pirates wanted any part of.

 ** _"ROCKET!"_** Luffy shot himself back at the fleeing crew like a human slingshot, and crashed into the lot of them.

Robin began to chuckle at the display her man had put on. Watching the terrified faces of their enemies when Luffy stretched like that always put a smile on her face.

Coby's eyes were wide in shock, unable to process what he had just witnessed.

Even Alvida was struck dumb by the boy's unnatural stunt.

As the large pirate woman's crew groaned in agony, speed across the deck after Luffy's last attack, Robin rushed over to the boy and wrapped her arms around him. "Luffy, that as amazing!"

The straw hatted boy chuckled as the dark haired girl gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Robin!"

Coby dared to step toward the odd couple, scarcely afraid of whatever else could possibly happen. "Luffy…what are you?!"

The two pirate lovers looked to the stunned spectacled boy, Luffy quizzical of what he was talking about. Huh?…Oh!

He then realized what he meant, and proceeded to pull his cheek out, his flesh stretching like his arm before. "I'm a rubber-man! See?" He stated, his words slurred with his cheek elongated as it was. Robin giggled at Luffy's antics.

Coby was astounded by the straw hatted boy's statement. "A…a rubber-man! But that means you ate a…a…"

A large shadow loomed over the pink haired child. Coby turned around to see that it was Last Alvida who was standing over him, glaring hatefully at him and the odd couple. Coby ran over to the pirate lovers, hiding behind Luffy as he stared at the rotund woman.

"You ate a Devil Fruit, didn't you, straw-hat?" Alvida asked, seeming to be over her previous shock.

Luffy let his cheek snap back into place. "Yup! I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit!"

"I see…" Alvida mused out loud. "I heard stories about fruits giving people unimaginable power, but I thought they were just rumors…" She then looked between the boy and the dark haired girl with her arms still around him. "So, what's your story? Out for a little sight-seeing?"

"Actually, we're pirates!" Luffy declared proudly.

"Pirates?! You?!" She pointed between them before scoffing. "And how far do you expect to get when its just the two of you?"

"It's just us for now, but we plan on getting more members to make a full crew." Robin stated matter of factly.

"Yeah! We're thinking of getting…" Luffy counted each of his fingers on both his hands before smiling in satisfaction. "Ten…yeah, ten guys!"

Alvida cackled maliciously. "You've got to be joking!" She then turned to look over to the dark haired girl. "And you actually chose to be with this idiot?!"

Robin did not like that remark as she scowled at the large woman.

Alvida ignored her as she went back to talking to Luffy. "Well, boy, if you're really serious about being a pirate, and if you and I aren't under the same flag…then that would make us enemies, now wouldn't it?"

Luffy caught on quick to what she was saying as he smiled with glee. He let go of Robin, who courteously stepped back. Luffy wound up his fist, ready for a fight, until he felt a tug on his shirt from behind him. Looking back, he found that it was Coby, and he was looking more scared than ever since he found him.

"Luffy…" The pink haired boy whimpered. "We gotta get out of here…!"

"Why?" Luffy asked. "I can take her!"

"No, you can't!" Coby denied desperately. "Don't you see, Luffy?! Out of all the pirates on the whole sea, Alvida is the…the…"

Coby stopped when he looked into the eyes of the straw hatted boy. The spectacled boy couldn't figure it out, but it was like he was staring right through him, as if looking for something.

Coby then looked over to Robin, who looked at him the same way as Luffy. Like she was waiting for something.

Coby's mind was brought back to what the two of them said to him back in the pantry. About how they focused on what they wanted to do with their lives, and how they didn't care what happened.

They just went for it.

Coby was so caught up in his head, he almost didn't hear Alvida talking to him.

"Well, go on, Coby…" The large woman sneered smugly. "Tell them what you were about to say…"

Coby looked at the rotund pair woman, a black stare in his eyes. Alvida's arrogant grin faded when she saw this strange new behavior from the usually passive child.

And she certainly wasn't ready for what he did next.

His black stare turned to an expression of pure rage, and he roared out loud so that everyone around him could hear him.

 ** _"ALVIDA'S THE BIGGEST, FATTEST, UGLIEST THING ON THE WHOLE SEA!"  
_**

Silence filled the air.

Pirates still on Alvida's ship had wide eyes and gaping mouths.

Alvida was as still as a statue, stunned by the boy she used to pick on for fun calling her such a thing for the first time since she captured him.

Coby had clenched his eyes tight closed, fighting his inner fear for the first time, and refusing to take his words back.

Robin and Luffy were stunned as well for a moment, only to break out into laughter a second later; Robin holding a hand to her face in politeness, and Luffy bellowing out without a shred of shame.

Alvida came out of her shock, and began to snarl in fury. "What did you just say?!"

 ** _"You heard me, you lard-bucket!"_** Coby erupted again, his held back frustration seeming to break down the wall of fear that surrounded him. **_"Or are you so fat, that you've got blubber blocking your ears?!"_**

Robin clutched at her stomach on that one, while Luffy was close to falling to the floor.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" Alvida roared in outrage.

 ** _"Maybe, or maybe I'm doing what I've always wanted to do!"_** Coby refused to back down now. ** _"I don't wanna be your whipping boy anymore, I wanna be a marine, just like I always wanted! to be And when I do become one, you're gonna be the fist pirate I hunt down! But it might not take so long, since your'e so big, that anyone could spot you from A MILLION MILES AWAY!"_**

And that was the final straw for Alvida's pride and patience. **_THAT'S ENOUGH!"_**

Coby was stunned. He couldn't believe it. He stood up for himself. He stood up for his dream. He never felt so alive!

 ** _"AAAH!"_** He screamed as Alvida raised her massive weapon. **_"I'M GONNA DIE!"_**

"COBY!" Luffy stepped infant of the terrified child, bringing Coby out of his fear, and grinned. "Well said!"

Before the rotund woman could bring her club down, a multitude of hands sprouted out all over her body, clinging to the arm that held her club, and holding her in place. **_"W-what the?! WHAT IS THIS?!_**

A mirth chuckle made its way to her ears, making her turn to the slim dark haired girl, had her arms crossed in an odd fashion.

"If you're so desperate to know," Robin enquired teasingly. "I ate the Hana-Hans Fruit."

Alvida tried to wrestle her way out of the phantom limbs, but no matter how angry she as, or how hard she struggled, Robin held her tight.

"And for the record," Robin chimed in once more. "I don't like it when someone insults my Luffy."

Alvida growled, wishing for nothing more than to bash that smug grin off of the young pirate girl.

"That wouldn't have hurt me anyway!" The straw hatted boy piped up, making Alvida look back at him in surprise. "I'm a rubber-man, remember?"

Luffy then clasped onto his right shoulder, and shot his fist back behind him, the rubber limb stretching far off the ship before stopping at a long distance.

 ** _"Gum-Gum…"_**

Alvida suddenly had a feeling she wasn't going to like what came next.

 ** _"PISTOL!"_**

Luffy pulled his arm back, the rubber limb building up speed.

Robin let her phantom arms disappear, letting Alvida go.

Before the large pirate woman could register that she was free again, it was too late.

Luffy smashed his fist right into Alvida's large gut, with a force strong enough to lift her off her feet, and send her flying off the ship, out over the water, and finally far into the distance, with the pot-bellied pirate screaming all the way.

The straw hatted boy's arm came back to him, snapping back into place. Luffy had a victorious grin on his face. Robin was smiling proudly at her man. Coby was aghast by the disappearance of his long time tormentor, and what was left of Alvida's crew could only gape at the loss of their large leader.

"YOU!" The shout from the straw hatted boy made all the pirates still standing on the now captain-less ship stand at attention. "Coby's leaving your crew and joining the marines! Gotta problem with that?!"

All the man on board shook their heads in humbled silence.

Coby was close to shedding tears, his two years of use and abuse were finally over. "Luffy…Thank you!"

Robin stepped up to her man and gave him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek, making Luffy blush but grin with pride.

The trio were then rocked off their feet, clinging onto the sidereal of the ship. Looking out to where the sudden jolt had come from, they found that it was a small fleet of marine battleships coming there way.

"Hey, Coby!" Luffy announced in excitement. "Now's your chance!" The pink haired boy looked at him in confusion. "You can join the marines here and now!"

"WHAT?!" The spectacled boy shrieked.

"And I do believe its time for us to go!" Robin declared, getting Luffy to nod in agreement and head for the closest lifeboat.

"W-wait!" Coby called to them ,scrambling into the same boat as the odd couple. "You gotta take me with you!"

"Why?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow. "This is your chance to be a marine, Coby!"

"If the Navy finds me here, they might think I'm a pirate!" The pink haired boy reasoned.

Robin silently agreed with the boy, while Luffy just looked at him in a confused fashion. Why doesn't he just tell them he's not a pirate, its that simple.

But it was too late to turn back now. Robin undid the ropes holding up the small dingy, and they all fell into the water below.

As the trio got their bearings from the fall, Luffy caught the sight of someone across from them, heaving a large sack of treasure on her tiny boat. It was the redheaded girl they bumped into in the ballroom.

The two locked eyes for a split second, time seeming to stop for just a moment.

Then the moment was over, as a falling cannonball blasted between the trio and the girl, separating them with a massive explosion of water and waves.


	13. The Demon Pirate Hunter

**_The Demon Pirate Hunter_**

"Look's like we managed to get away!" Coby called out as he looked back at the ongoing carnage between of the Navy and the remaining Alvida pirates. "That last cannonball must have blasted us a good distance away!"

The trio of the straw hatted boy, the dark haired girl, and the pink haired child were sailing gently away from the battle, letting the current lead their way. Luffy was seated at the bow of the small boat, Robin perched herself in the middle with a book she managed to save from their last small vessel being sucked down the whirlpool, and Coby was gazing out at the stern, watching the battle taking place behind them shrink further and further away.

"Man! That was fun!" Luffy declared with a hearty laugh.

"Indeed, it was quite thrilling." Robin agreed with a chuckle as she flipped a page.

"How could you think that nearly getting killed is fun?!" Coby was dumbfounded at the odd couple's lacking sense of danger.

Robin turned about to face her boyfriend. "So, where to next, captain?"

Luffy brought a hand up to his chin, making himself look deep in thought. "Well, that fat pirate lady said something about some pirate hunter? What wad his name again? Zero… Zolo…"

Coby came out of his daydreaming, breaking into a cold sweat when he heard Luffy mention the pirate hunter. "Roronoa Zoro…?"

"Yeah, him!" Luffy shot a finger at Coby in excitement. "I wanna go see this guy everybody's so afraid of!"

"YOU WANNA MEET RORONOA ZORO?!" Coby franticly wailed. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

"What?" Luffy sounded offended. "I just wanna know why he's such a big deal!"

"He's a big deal, because he's a blood-thirsty killer, Luffy!" Coby cried out. Once again, Luffy and Robin shared a look, making Coby seem to be the weird one on board.

Coby heaved a sigh before going into deeper detail about Zoro. "Listen, guys! Roronoa Zoro is someone you want to stay as far away from as possible, especially if you're a pirate! He's been known as a demon in human skin, a vicious monster who butchers his victims without remorse! And that's not the worst of it! I've heard rumors from Alvida and her crew that he doesn't just stop at cutting down his enemies… ** _he slices them to bits and throws them to the sharks!_** You go looking for Zoro, Luffy, you'll find nothing but a slow, painful death!"

"Woah…" Luffy was astounded by Coby description of the pirate hunter, frozen in awe at Coby's words. Even Robin was stilled by his explanation.

"Well…When you put it like that…" Luffy mused out loud. Coby felt a hopeful smile begin to grow on his face. Was Luffy finally seeing sense and taking his advice?

"…Then maybe I should have him join my crew!" Luffy declared with a beaming smile.

Coby's jaw dropped "WHAT?!"

"Whatcha think, Robin?" Luffy turned to his girlfriend for confirmation.

"A vicious cut-throat who makes a living carving up his enemies to pieces?" Robin mused aloud. "…How could I not want to meet him?" She deduced with a smile.

"YOU TWO ARE CRAZY!" Coby cried out in distress. "Zoro's not gonna join your crew! He'll kill you before he does!"

"We'll never know unless we ask!" Luffy reasoned.

Coby was running out of heads to try and make his saviors change their minds. Suddenly, he had an epiphany. "Uh, well, it's gonna be pretty tricky to get to him! Last I heard, he was hold up in Shells Town, a village found on a navy based island! You'd be up to your eyes in marines before running into the likes of Zoro! Oh, well! Guess you'll just have to find someone else to join yourcrew!" He made an attempt to fane disappointment, but couldn't help the smile that formed on his face.

"Why's that?." Robin interjected, replacing Coby's smile with a look of dread. "This could be your chance to join the marines, Coby. To live your dream, like you've always wanted."

Coby was stunned by Robin's explanation. Before he could say anything else, Luffy turned towards the front of the ship and thrust his finger out to the open sea. "Then it's settled; TO SHELLS TOWN!"

Robin looked proudly at her love, until Coby lost all of his calm and went into a panic.

"YOU TWO ARE OUT OF YOUR MINDS! THE PIRATE HUNTER'S GONNA KILL US ALL! AND THE MARINES! THEY'LL LOCK US UP THE SECOND WE SET FOOT ON LAND! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE, I TELL YOU! IMPOSSIBLE-!"

A fist landed hard on the top of his head.

"…Why'd you hit me?" Coby groaned as he dumped the now forming lump on his noggin.

"Cause you wouldn't shut up." Luffy stated simply.

Coby looked to Robin, hoping to gain some sympathy from the dark haired beauty. What he got was a shrug from the girl, as she went back to reading her book. Coby slumped down at his end of the boat, disheartened by the lack of compasion.

Another part of him, however, was getting really tired of getting pushed around…

* * *

After a night out at sea, it was a bright and sunny morning as the trio found themselves arriving at thier destination, the island of Shells Town; a large, walled off mound of land, with a towering Navy base at the very top of the island. They pulled into the harbor and began to dismount the boat.

Luffy leapt off the small vessel, taking in the sights as Robin walked up next to him and took his hand. "Shall we?"

Luffy smiled as he took his hand out from hers and brought it around her waist and pulled her in. "Yeah! Let's go!"

"So, I'll just tie off the boat, shall I?!" Coby called to the lovebirds, watching them walk into town. The pink hared boy gave the rope a good tug before running after the odd couple. He was really getting tired of being treated like the third wheel.

The spectacled boy caught up to the odd couple as Luffy flicked a coin over to a shopkeeper, handing an apple to Robin. Robin took a bite, savoring the flavour. Luffy then turned back to the shopkeeper. "Hey, can you tell us where Zoro is?"

The shopkeeper, along with everyone in the surrounding area, leapt back a good distance, shaking in fear of the very mention of the pirate hunter's name.

"What's up with them?" Luffy pondered out loud.

"It would seem Roronoa Zoro's reputation proceeds him." Robin clarified, taking another bite of her fruit.

"And I don't blame them," Coby spoke up. "He must have done something crazy to get this kind of a reaction."

"So, where's the marine base?" Luffy looked around.

"It's that building with the huge tower over there!" Coby pointed to the structure, excitement full in his voice as he did. "If I remember correctly, the head of this base is supposed to be Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan!"

Once again, all surrounding citizens of the town leapt back in fear, seeming to cower even more at the mention of the navy captain's name.

Luffy couldn't help but laugh. "This town is nuts!" Robin finished eating the apple, leaving only the core, as she handed it back to her love. Luffy was more than happy to take the leftovers and swallow them whole. The boy had a rare talent of eating just about anything, and Robin knew he wouldn't mind eating what he could get.

"Why would a town hailed by a navy marine base be so afraid of their own captain?" Robin wondered, having a pretty good idea of what kind.

"I don't know," Coby was trulls confused. "The navy's supposed to be the good guys… right?"

Luffy and Robin didn't say anything, as the trio continued up the hill toward the navy base.

The trio found themselves standing before a large, thick gate to the Navy marine base. Luffy and Robin took in the sight with little regard, while Coby couldn't help butt feel weepy eyed at the sight.

"This is it…" He whimpered through his building tears. "I'm finally going to be a marine!" He wiped his damp eyes with the back of his arm. "Luffy…Robin…I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me! Even if we're to become enemies in the near future, I just want you to know that no matter what, you two are my first and very best-"

"HEY, LOOK! THERE HE IS!" The straw hatted boy was currently in the process of climbing over the base's wall. Robin made her trek a little easier with her devil fruit powers.

Coby blanched at the sight of them. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?! GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

Luffy ignored him as he stretched his arm out and pulled him up by his shirt collar. Perching the boy between him and Robin, Luffy pointed out into the clearing. "Hey, Coby, is that him?"

"What are you talking abou-?" Coby lost his voice as he took in the sight before him. There in the middle of a scorching hot field of soil, tied to a post, was a man dressed in a disheveled white shirt, dark green pants and boots, with a matching colored bandana tied around his head, covering what could be barely seen as a head of a lighter shade of green hair. Coby began to quake in fear of the sight of the man.

"That's him…" He whispered. "That's really him….Roronoa Zoro…"

The trio stayed their for a long while, taking the form of the so-called 'Man-Demon'.

"It looks like he hasn't eaten in days, weeks even!" Robin deduced from the look of the figure, noticing the lack of body mass he had.

"…So all we gotta do is untie him and-" Luffy decided to speak up.

"We not doing squat!" Coby cried out. "How many times do I have to tell you that meeting him is a bad idea?!"

"I don't know…" The straw hatted boy returned. "How many times have you already?"

Coby was beside himself, while Robin simply chuckled.

"Hey, you three!" A voice called out to them, turning their attention to the restrained man on the post.

"Do me a favor will you…" He then looked up, showing that even though he seemed to be on his last legs, he had the aura of a vicious predator. **_"Get Lost!"_**

Coby was the only to flinch at the man's warning, but Luffy and Robin stood their ground, unshaken by the threat.

From out of nowhere, a ladder propped itself up against the wall next to the trio. A little girl with brown hair and a green and purple striped dress climbed up the apparatus, and put her finger to her lips, signaling the three to be quiet. She then made the bold move to jump down into the field and run over to the restrained man.

"What is she doing?!" Coby panicked. "We gotta do something! She's gonna get herself killed!"

"Luffy?" Robin looked over to her love, noticing that he had a blank stare in his eye as he watched the girl go.

"Hi, Mr. Zoro!" The little girl chirped kindly. "I brought you something to eat!"

"Kid, if I were you, I'd turn around and get out of here while I still could," The pirate hunter warned. "This is no place for a little girl!"

"But I wanted to give something to you," She opened up a bag she brought with her and showed what was in it. "TADA~! Oni-Giri! I made it all by myself!"

"I said scram, brat!" Zoro barked.

"Man, he really is a monster…" Coby mused. Robin and Luffy kept silent as they watched the exchange.

Suddenly, a smug sounding laughter came to everyone's ears. Looking over to a side gate, they saw that a spindly man with a blonde bowl-but hairstyle and wearing a bright purple suit came strutting out onto the plain, with a pair of marines marching behind him.

"Oh, good the marines are here!" coby sighed with relief, but Robin and Luffy would disagree with the pink haired boy's opinion.

"Zoro, Zoro, Zoro…" The man seemed to lecture. "What ever are we going to do with you? Is that any way to speak to a little girl like that? If you don't apologize, I'll tell my father on you~!"

"Stick it in your ear!" The pirate hunter growled, which only got a boisterous laughter out of the lanky man.

The man in the purple suit then looked to the little girl and what she had in her hands. "Ooh~! Oni-giri! Don't mind if I do!" He then snatched a ball of rice out of the little girl's hand and took it all in one bite.

"Hey, that's not for you!" The girl cried out. She was met with the man spitting out the snack in disgust.

"Did you make these with sugar?!" He raged, making the little girl shrink back in fear.

"I-I thought it would taste good…" She tried defend herself. She then got to her knees and went to pick the mess up, only for the man to cruelly stomp on it in his temper tantrum. Coby was aghast at the sight, with Luffy and Robin scowling at the purple suited man.

The little girl was now close to tears. "W-why would you do that?!"

"Because I can!" Was the blonde man's retort. "My father is the captain of this island, and as his son, I can do as I please! For example; You there!" He pointed to one of the marines that followed him in. "Take this girl and throw her over the wall!"

"What?!" The marine blanched. "S-sir, I-!

"Is that insubordination I hear?!" The purple suited man got up into the officer's face, pulling him close by the scruff of his neck. "Do you remember what happened to the last man who disobeyed an order from their superior?"

Unfortunately the officer did, and with a swallow of his pride and shame in his heart, he made his way over to the little girl and grabbed hold of her.

"NO! PLEASE!" She cried out in terror.

"I'm sorry." The marine whispered as quietly as he could. "Tuck yourself into a ball before you hit the ground."

With that last bit of advice, the marine through the little girl over the side, the child screaming all the way.

"NO!" Coby cried out, as Luffy strange into action and jumped for the girl, grabbing hold of her with his rubber limbs. Robin helped to make his landing a little less painful by making a bed of phantom limbs to cushion his fall.

"Are you okay?" Luffy asked the girl in his arms.

"Yeah…" The child sniffed. "I think so…"

Robin and Coby ran over to the two. As Robin looked over the two, the pink haired boy was having a personal crisis. "I don't understand. Why would the marines do something like that?"

Luffy stood from the ground and looked back to the wall, as if staring through it for a small while.

"You slime-ball…!" Zoro seethed. He was only met with more mocking laughter from the bowl-haired man.

"Oh, Zoro! You and that vulgar tongue of yours!" The purple suited man gloated. He came out of his laughter to talk a little straighter with the pirate hunter. "I have to say though, Zoro, I'm rather impressed! It's been three weeks now since our little agreement, and you still haven't given in!"

"Yeah?" Zoro spoke up. "Well I'd love to see how impressed you'll be when I survive this whole thing!"

More mocking laughter came his way as his captor walked away from him, his two marines bodyguards behind him. "We'll see about that, Zoro! Ta-ta!"

Zoro spat on the ground after the smug son left. "One more week…Just you watch…"

"Hey." Zoro looked to who ever spoke to him next, finding that it was the straw hatted boy before.

"You again?" He asked uninterested. "I thought I told you to get lost."

"I can untie you if you want!" Luffy offered. "And after I do, I want you to join my pirate crew!"

The green haired man scoffed. "No thanks! I've made enough bad deals so far, and I don't plan on making anymore!"

Luffy looked over the restrained man, observing Zoro's situation from where he stood. "Y'know, if I was stuck there for three weeks, I probably would have died of hunger by now."

Zoro smirked at the boy's words. "Guess that goes to show ho much more willpower I have than you-!" A growl from his stomach interrupted him. Luffy stifled a chuckle by clamping his hand over his mouth.

"Screw you!" The pirate hunter snarled.

"Alright, I can see you're in a bad mood, so I'll come bak later!" Luffy was about to walk off when Zoro called back to him.

"Wait! Before you go…" He looked down at the mess of dirt and rice on the ground before him. He swallowed at the sight of it. "Could you pick that up for me?"

"Why?" Luffy asked quizzically. "Wait, don't tell me you're gonna eat it?"

"You gotta problem with that?!" The green haired man barked. "Just shut up and give it to me!"

"Okay, Okay!" Luffy complied as he reached down and took the mound off the ground and fed it to the starving prisoner. He watched as Zoro grimaced at chewing on the substance before struggling to gulp it down. "Pretty nasty, huh?"

"No, it was good," Was the green haired man's reply. "…Hey, if you see that little girl again…tell her I said thanks, will you?"

Luffy looked at the man as if he was an oddity. Wasn't he supposed to be some blood-thirsty monster or something?

* * *

"He really liked it?!" The little girl chimed giddily.

"Yup!" Luffy told her. "He ate it all in one bite!"

"Thank goodness…" The child sighed happily.

"It was sweet of you to do that for him, Luffy." Robin wrapped her arms around Luffy's neck, making the boy beam and blush.

The trio and the little girl were sitting outside her mother's eatery, catching up on what they had just witnessed.

"I just don't get it," Coby mused out loud. "The marines are supposed to protect people, and Roronoa Zoro's supposed to be a vicious killer, isn't he?"

"He's not a killer!" The small girl piped up, making the boy flinch back. The little girl then clenched her fist in what seemed to be anger. "And the navy doesn't protect us…!"

Coby looked as if his whole world had been turned upside down, while Luffy and Robin listened in on what the girl had to say.

"That man in the suit, Helemppo, came into town with his pet wolf, letting it run around town and destroying anything it wanted. It came into our home, and I tried to chase it off, but right before it attacked me, the Zoro man hit it with a chair. He then pointed one of his swords at Helemppo," She smiled to herself, remembering the terrified look on his face at the time. "But then Helemppo said that he'd have the entire town executed! So he made Zero promise to stay on that pole for a whole month!" The girl then buried her face into her hands. "It's been three weeks already…"

The trio were dead silent when the girl finished her story, but were soon snapped out of their thoughts when a loud crash sounded off inside the building.

Heading indoors, they saw that it was Helemppo himself making a scene, with his two marine guards once again by his side.

"Fix me up whatever passes for food around here, along with whatever swill you call wine!" The purple suited brat ordered. As the owner of the eatery, the little girl's mother, went to work making a dish for the Captain's son as quick as she could, one would almost notice a familiar redheaded girl sitting at a table not too far from the trio that just entered.

Helemppo gave a sigh as the woman came back with his order and was forced to pour his drink for him. "It's gotten so boring around here, wouldn't you all agree? Here I thought Zoro would have kicked the bucket by now, but he's still standing after three weeks of no food or water. Perhaps I should do the merciful thing and put him out of his misery. Yes, that should lift my spirits! Tomorrow morning, I'll hold a public execution of Roronoa Zoro! Be sure not to miss it everyone!" The spoiled man laughed to himself for his so-called brilliant idea.

Completely unaware of the building rage coursing through the straw hatted boy's body not too far from him.

Helempoo soon came out of his laughter, and looked around at the frightened faces around him. He soon spotted who he thought to be the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, with her straight silky black hair, deep blue eyes and curvaceous figure, completely ignoring the straw hatted boy beside her.

"Well, hello~!" He greeted in his usual arrogant fashion, propping his hand under his head in what he thought was a smooth gesture. "What a pretty little thing you are! Would you like to join me for a bite to eat? It's on the house!"

He was then blasted out of his seat as the straw hatted boy planted his fist into his face and rocketed him into the far off wall.

Luffy stood there, looking about ready to smash his face in again, until Coby ran up behind him and grabbed both his arms. "Luffy, stop!"

The two marine officers who were supposed to guard Helempoo helped the captain's son off from the floor. When the purple suited man got his bearings back, he glared daggers at the straw hatted boy. "You…You just hit me!"

"Sure did!" Luffy stated, looking ready to tear Helempoo apart.

"D-Don't you know who I am?! I'm the son of captain Morgan!" The purple suited man argued.

"Does it look like I care?!" Luffy barked, making Helempoo shrink back slightly, but soon grew more angry than he had ever been. No one had ever treated him this way!

"YOU'LL CARE SOON ENOUGH!" The spoiled man shrieked. "WHEN I TELL MY FATHER, YOUR HISTORY!" He made his way to the door, but then stopped to look back at the girl he had hit on before he was struck walk over to the boy.

"Are you all right, Luffy?" Robin asked sweetly.

"Huh?" Luffy answered confusedly. "Uh, yeah, I'm okay."

Robin then took her boyfriend's hand and brought it close to her lips. "I hope you didn't hurt your hand."

"Nah! My hand wouldn't hurt from something like that, Robin, you know that." Luffy smiled cluelessly at the girl's intentions.

"You poor thing…" She cooed as she gave his knuckles a gentle kiss. She then looked back at Helemppo in disgust, which all helped in hurting the spoiled son's ego all the more.

Helemppo gave a shrill grunt and stormed out of the establishment, with his two marine bodyguards behind him.

"Luffy! Do you have any idea what you've just done?!" Coby argued, still holding the larger boy back. "You just hit the son of a navy captain! You just dug you're own grave!"

"I don't care!" Luffy declared. "I've made up my mind! …Zoro's joining my crew!"

"What?!" Coby blanched, letting go of Luffy in the process.

The straw hatted boy looked to his girl with a serious expression. "Robin, were breaking Zoro out! Today!"

The dark haired girl gave her love a firm nod. "Understood."

The two made their way out of the eatery, their sights set on the marine base. Coby was so awestruck with their decision, he nearly let them get away before he bolted out and ran up behind them.

"W-wait a minute!" the pink haired boy cried uot, making the odd couple turn back to face him. "You can't just break into a navy base like its nothing! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

Luffy and Robin merely stood there, their faces stone still as they stared back at the boy. Coby felt the pressure in the air tighten around him, feeling that had done something utterly wrong.

"Coby," Luffy spoke in a strong tone. "Do you ever get tired of saying that we can't do this and that?"

The spectacled boy was frozen at his words. "U-uh…I…"

"We're pirates, Coby." Robin stated, making the boy look to her next. "We can do whatever we choose. Perhaps you should stop telling people what **_they_** can't do, and ask yourself if there's anything **_you_** can do."

With that, the two pirates continued on they're way, leaving a baffled Coby behind. Coby's fist was shaking, feeling an abundant amount of shame wash over him.

How long was he going to choose to be so weak?!

* * *

In a dimly lit office, a large, burly man with short cut blonde hair, a light blue trench coat, a metal jaw fixture taking up most of his face, and a massive axe blade for his left arm sat in his desk chair, looking over the entire town from a window.

"Lieutenant!" He thundered, making the officer at his door jolt before standing at as much attention as he could. "I'm I not the most amazing captain the Navy has ever known?!"

"Y-yes, sir!" The private saluted in agreement, however his true opinion would say otherwise.

"Then how come the town hasn't shown their respect by paying their taxes to their fullest?" The Navy captain questioned.

The officer gulped, afraid of what his superior's reaction would be once he told him. "W-well, sir, the citizens claim that they haven't been able to keep up with the tax prices since you recently raised them…"

"…Liars…" The axe armed man deduced. "Greedy, ungrateful liars… Have a squad assembled to ransack the town for any valuables the town may be hiding!"

As the officer silently gasped to himself from the outrageous order, Helempoo came barging into his father's office, holding his swollen cheek from when he was stuck. "FATHER!"

The hulking navy captain turned only slightly to regard his son.

"A BOY IN A STRAW HAT AND HIS GIRLFRIEND HUMILIATED ME IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE TOWN!" The spoiled son shrieked. "I DEMAND THAT YOU HANG THEM IMMEDIATELY!"

* * *

Back with the restrained pirate hunter, he had, for the up tenth time, passed out from fatigue. In his ironic state, he dreamt of when he was just a kid, picking every fight he could, and wound up challenging a kendo dojo for the heck of it. There he met the first person who ever beat him, and the one person he'll never defeat, the daughter of the dojo's master, Kuina. No matter who many times he tried, or how much he trained himself, she always beat him, humiliating him every time.

But one night, Zoro challenged Kuina to one last match, but this time, not with their usual kendo sticks, but real blades. But once again, as if it were a law of nature itself, Zoro was destined to lose. He was about to give up, to accept the fact that no matter what, he was destined to lose to Kuina. But the girl disagreed. She said that as a girl, she was destined to grow up to be frail and weak, and that Zoro would eventually surpass her since he was a male.

Zoro refused her statement. He said that if it wasn't for her, he would never have become as strong as he was now, and that it was because she was stronger than him, female or not. That night, Zoro and Kuina promised each other that one day, one of them would become the greatest swordsman in the world.

But that dream wouldn't come true for Kuina, for only a few days after their final battle, the girl fell down the stairs, ending her life. Zoro was heartbroken with how a fighter as strong as her was taken in such a way, and how she never got the chance to even try to become the best.

So Zoro made a new vow. With Kuina's sword entrusted to him by her father, he promised that he would become the greatest swordsman in the world, for her sake as much as his.

The swordsman was so caught up in his stupor of memories, he even began to say her name in his dismay. "Kuina…Kuina…"

"Who's Kuina?" A feminine voice broke him out of his state. Coming back to reality, Zoro realized that it was the straw hatted boy again, along with the dark haired girl that was with him on the wall.

The green haired man looked away. "None of your business…!"

The odd couple gave each other a look, before turning back to the swordsman.

"Hey! We got something to tell you!" Luffy spoke up, grabbing the green haired man's attention.

"The navy captain's son just declared that he was going to have executed tomorrow." Robin explained.

"WHAT?!" Zoro barked. "But he promised that-!?"

"Didn't seem like the promise-keeping type to me when I saw him." Luffy mused with folded arms. It took him some time to admit, but Zoro had to agree.

The green haired man hung his head. "The slimy piece of…"

The odd couple gave the ashamed prisoner time to come to the newly revealed terms before speaking again.

"You know…" Luffy supposed. "We can help you out of here if you want," The swordsman looked up at the straw hatted boy. "But once we do, you have to join my crew!"

"I thought I told you already," The swordsman growled. "I'm not joining up with any pirate!"

"It's either this, or wait to executed by that buffoon in the purple suit." Robin offered.

The green haired man took a minute to catch his breath, getting angry out in the heat wasn't doing him any favors. "…Even if I did want to join you, that spoiled brat had my blades confiscated."

"Oh, is that all?" Luffy inquired. "In that case, I'll go in, get your swords, and then you can join my crew!"

"Get it through your head! I'm not joining you!" If this kept up, Zoro was going to suffer another heatstroke.

Luffy turned to his girl, completely ignoring the raving man. "Robin, stay here and untie Zoro while I go and get his swords."

"All right," Robin nodded beofe givng Luffy a quick kiss on the cheek. "Be safe."

"I will!" He grinned before running off…the wrong way.

"Hey, numb-skull!" Zoro called to the straw hatted boy. "Navigate much? You're going the wrong way!"

Luffy skidded to a stop, looking between him and the base. He then stretched his arms out toward the building, his rubber limbs passing between the swordsman and his girl, before he launched himself in the right direction. "Thank you!"

Zoro watched him go in complete bewilderment. "…I think the sun's starting to get to me."

Robin chuckled at his accusation. Zoro then shook himself out of his surprise to focus on the girl before him. "So…you and him, huh? How does that work?"

Robin came out of her giggling and crossed her arms. In a matter of seconds, a multitude of arms had sprung up around Zoro and the post he was tied to. "W-WHAT THE?!"

Robin smiled to herself at seeing the swordsman's reaction. She then got to work untying his bonds, and as soon as he was free, grabbed hold of him to stop him from falling. Realizing just how weak he was from the lack of food and water, Zoro took it slow as he got back on his feet, watching the phantom limbs disappear in a whip of pink petals.

He then turned to the girl, the stunned expression he had before back on his face. "…Yeah, that would explain it.

Zoro began to rub his sore muscles, a moment of silence coming over the two rogues before Robin decided to say something. "You're not going to join us when you get your swords, are you?"

"Oh, no~! I'm totally going to join your crew~!" The green haired man sarcastically quoted, making Robin frown in return. "Hey! I didn't make any stupid promise to partner up! You two did all this out of your own choice! I owe you nothing!"

"So, what you're saying is, is that you would have been fine, remaining to be tied to this post, spending the rest of your relatively short life starving and dehydrated, while the navy arrives to fill you full of holes come morning?" The dakr haired woman deduced matteroffactly.

Zoro had nothing to say back to that onslaught of fact.

"You are right, though, you owe us nothing," Robin offered. "But we don't want you to join us, because of a debt. We want you to come with us, because e want you to."

"Well, we can't all get what we want now can we?" Even thougth Zoro had spent over half a month tied to the post behind him, he leaned himself back on it in a standing fashion, looking back at the dark haired girl who freed her.

"Perhaps…" Robin shrugged. "But if I might ask something of you…when you get your swords, stick around for a while, get to know Luffy, and I promise, you won't be disapointed."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "You think he's gonna get my swords back?"

Robin chuckled knowingly. "He will. I garuntee it."

Zoro looked away from the woman, mulling over her confident words, when he noticed something behind her. "Hey, is that the little kid that was with you?"

Robin turned around to see that Coby was indeed there, struggling to climb over the wall to the grounds. He finally succeeded, only to fall with a painful thud. Robin and Zoro each gave a cringe at watching the boy's rough landing.

* * *

"Put your backs into it, men!" Morgan barked his orders, ignoring the strained groans of his soldiers. They were in the difficult process of lifting a colossal statue of the axe armed captain high up on the navy base, which the statue itself seemed to be much larger than. "This statue symbolizes my greatness, and once it is raised, all of the East Blue shall witness it!"

"Father! Why are we wasting time with this?!" The high shrieking from his son brought the iron jawed man out of his gloating, making him turn to the purple haired man behind him. "What about that boy who struck me?! And the woman who embarrassed me?! I demand you do something about them this instant!"

"Helmeppo," The captain spoke with a growl. "Do you know why I've never hit you?"

The question caught the spoiled man off guard. "Uh…B-because you…love me?"

"No," The axed armed captain sent a hard haymaker into his own son's face, sending him flying across the roof of the base. Once Helmeppo hit the edge of the roof, Morgan stomped over to him and lifted him up by his collar. "It's because you were never worth the effort, until now! No one orders captain Morgan around like some lowly little private! I'm the one who calls the shots around here, and if there's anyone that doesn't like it, can take it up with this!" He held his prized bladed limb up close to his son's neck, who was close to breaking down in tears. "Do I make myself clear… 'sonny-boy?'"

"Y-yes, f-father…!" Helmeppo squeaked out, before the captain threw him to the ground once again.

"Good! Now…what's this I hear of an insubordinate little girl breaking into my base?" He questioned sternly.

"Now, if I were a stupid purple suited jerk who liked to pick on people for no good reason, where would I put a sword?" Luffy asked himself as he wondered the base. Coming to a stop, he took in the sight of the high reaching, dark blue tower of the base, and had an idea.

"Maybe if I started at the top and worked my way to the bottom, I'll find Zoro's sword in no time!" The straw hatted boy deduced. He grabbed his right hand and cocked it back for a long reach.

Helmeppo was confused for a second before the memory came to him. "O-Oh, yes! There was a little girl who snuck onto the base, but I had her taken care of!"

"So, you executed her?" The captain huffed. "Good."

"W-what?!" Helmeppo blanched. "N-no, father! I didn't have her killed! She's just a little girl!"

Morgan began to breath heavily at the mention of this, before swirling around on his boy. "How someone as weak willed as you could ever be my son is beyond me!" The scathing words struck his son hard. The mad captain then pointed to his lieutenant, who he had ordered to be one of his son's bodyguards. "You there! You remember what this girl looked like?"

"Y-yes,sir!" The lone marine had a bad feeling of what he was about to be asked for.

"Then go into town, find this girl and bring her in for execution! I will not have rebels on my island!" The axe armed man thundered.

If this were any other time, the marine would have bowed his head and done as he was ordered. But this time, he said the one thing that everyone in Shells Town never said to captain Morgan. "…No."

"What did you just say…?" Morgan snarled, marching up to the now shaking lieutenant.

"I won't do it sir!" The lone marine defended himself. "She's just a child, and doing so would be nothing but inhumane!"

"If there's one thing I can't stand more than weakness, its insubordination," The metal mouthed man marched up to the defiant soldier, his size easily towering over him. "And I refuse to have insubordination in my ranks! Now I'll ask of you again; find this girl and bring her in for execution, **_immediatly!"_**

Luffy shot his arm up to the top of the tower. "Gum-Gum…"

 ** _"No, sir!"_** The lieutenant defied once again, bracing himself for what would come next. **_"I'll die before doing so!"_**

 ** _"Fine by me, traitor!"_** Morgan lifted his axe arm high above his head, making ready to bring it down atop the marine's head.

"ROCKET!" The straw hatted boy shot himself up into the air and up over the roof of the tower… A little too high.

Morgan was only inches away from his axe plunging into the lieutenant's head, when Luffy appeared with a cry in the sky. All eyes switched over to the flying youth.

Luffy nearly panicked until he managed to latch onto a rope that was in his way. A rope that was supporting the massive statue of Morgan. Grabbing hold of it, he managed to stop his momentum, but also managed to give the statue a harsh tug, making it go unstable, and the marines who were still holding it up lose their grip.

As Luffy landed on the ground safely on his feet, the statue fell to the ground below with a defining smash.

All eyes were wide and all jaws were dropped, as Mrogan, his son and the surrounding marines were frozen still from the sudden events that had just taken place.

Luffy raised his hand in an uneasy motion. "…sorry."

 ** _"YOU DESTROY THE SYMBOL OF MY GREATNESS, AND DARE SAY YOU'RE SORRY?!"_** Morgan roared. **_"I'LL MOUNT YOUR HEAD ON MY WALL FOR THIS INSULT!"_**

"Father! That's him!" Helmeppo cried out, pointing a finger at the straw hatted boy. "That's the boy who-!"

The spoiled son screamed in fear, as the boy who had struck him suddenly appeared right in front of him.

"Oh, Hey! It's you again!" Luffy spoke to the man as if they were old friends, like the incident at the eatery never happened. He then proceeded to grab Helmeppo and run off into the base with him. "Can you come with me for a sec? I need your help with something!"

"He just made off with the captain's son!" One of the marines called out, making the rest break out of their stupor.

Morgan was about to go after the straw hatted boy, but was stopped by another one of his men. "Captain Morgan, sir! Roronoa Zoro is free!"

"WHAT?!" The axe handed man roared, charging over to the ledge to see for himself.

"He appears to have two accomplices with him, sir!" The marine reported, pointing out the dark haired girl and what appeared to be a pink haired boy running up to them.

At the sight of all these strangers coming out nowhere and defying his authority, Morgan felt his blood begin to boil…

* * *

Luffy ran down the many corridors of the navy base, dragging Helmeppo behind him like a sack of potatoes. The straw hatted boy suddenly skidded to a stop. "Okay, I think we got away," He pulled the spoiled man up from the floor and held him close to his face. "All right, where'd you put Zoro's sword?"

The purple suited man weakly raised his finger. "B-back t-that way… In my room… two corridors down…" He was too winded from the fast travel to speak properly.

"What?!" Luffy said exasperatedly. "Oh, great! Now we gotta go all the way back!" Helmeppo groaned at the notion.

"DON'T MOVE!" Luffy turned to face a small squad of rifle baring marines blocking off his path. "Release the captain's son, or we'll open fire!"

"Go ahead, I don't care…" Luffy carelessly offered, as he then propped up Helmeppo in for of him. "But this guy might!"

The spoiled man screamed like a child as the straw hatted boy suddenly charged the marines, managing to push them out of his way. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!"

* * *

Coby had snuck in over the wall of the naval base and ran his way over to the dark haired girl and the freed swordsman. "Robin!"

"Coby?" Robin inquired once Coby caught up with them, leaning over to catch his breath. "What are you doing here?"

Once the boy had caught his breath, he began to explain himself. "I thought about…what you said…!" The two pirates looked at each other in confusion. "I want…to be strong!…As strong as you… and as Luffy!"

The woman gave a proud smile, whilst Zoro couldn't help but respect the boy.

"Every time I say you can't do something, you go ahead and do it anyway, because you can!" He stood up, a fire burning bright in his eyes. "I've been trying to hold you back without even knowing it! I wanna say I'm sorry, and I wanna say I'm done! I'm not gonna get in your way anymore! And I'm not gonna let anything get in my either! I'm gonna be a marine, now matter what! And I'll be a better one than any of these crooked, heartless monsters on this island! I'll show the world what a real marine ican really be-!"

The boy was cut off by a bullet shredding into his shoulder and blasting him off his feet.

"COBY!" Robin cried out. Zoro stood in shock for a moment, only to turn to the shooters with a look of disgust.

There stood Captain Mrogan, with his axe arm resting over his shoulder, towering over his men as they aimed their rifles square at the two still standing figures.

"Roronoa Zoro!" The motel jawed behemoth bellowed. "You are sentenced to be executed by firing squad, along with the child and the wretch that attempted to aid in your escape!"

Zoro and Robin gazed at the multitude of firearms pointed their way intently…

Luffy opened a door with the purple suited man's name emblazoned on the fortune of it. When he did, he almost wished he didn't.

"What's wrong with your room?!" He blanched at the horrid sight of the place. Flowers and throw pillows were all over the place, and there was an uncomfortable amount of pink adorning the area. "This looks more like a girl's room, but more… girly!"

Looking around the feminine surroundings, Luffy spotted three swords in one of the rooms corners. "Hey! How come you have three swords? Which one's Zoro's?" He looked down to ask the spoiled man, only to find that the captain's son had fainted on their perils trek to his room.

Luffy rolled his eyes before unceremoniously letting go of him, the blond man falling to the floor with a thump. He then helped himself to all three of the blades. "Ah, well! I'll just take all of them, then Zoro can pick which one's his later!"

Hearing some commotion outside, Luffy looked out one of the room windows, and found that Morgan and his men were making ready to open fire on Zoro, his girlfriend, and a now shot and bleeding Coby.

If the situation were any different, he would have launched himself down into the field and take the shots for them. His rubber body would allow him to bounce the bullets back and take the enemy by surprise.

But instead, he propped his arms under his chin and got ready to enjoy the show.

* * *

Robin, who was knelt down beside the cringing Coby, folded her arms in her Hana pose at the ready. Zoro took it upon himself to stand in front of the boy and girl behind him, hoping to shield them from as many shots as he possibly could.

"Ready…!" Morgan raised his axe hand high. "Aim…!" The marines primed their weapons.

"Sorry, Kuina…" The green haired man clutched his fists tight, bracing himself for the onslaught.

Coby clenched his eyes shut in his despair.

Morgan flung his namesake down. "FIRE!"

"Veinte Fleur!" Robin cried out all of a sudden.

Right as the line of men placed their fingers on the triggers of their firearms, multiple arms sprouted out all over the marine's bodies, grabbed hold of their weapons, and pointed them straight up in the air. The men fired their guns into the air, completely missing their designated targets.

Zoro looked back at the girl, who now had her arms crossed in an odd fashion. Coby was in awe of the dark haired woman's power.

"Woah…" The swordsman managed to find his voice. "That was…pretty handy!" Robin couldn't help but chuckle at the impromptu pun.

"YOU!" The loud, gruff voice of the navy captain brought the trio's attention back to him. "WRETCH! YOU ATE A DEVIL FRUIT, DIDN'T YOU?!"

Robin stood from her spot and made her way toward the small fleet, standing between them and the two behind her. "How observant of you! I thought you more of a knuckle-dragging lug with a lack of brains, but you proved me wrong! Congradulations!"

Morgan might as well have been spewing steam from his ears, he was so mad. "I won't have some devil fruit freak insult me! You will pay for your insubordination!"

"No…" She retorted with a confident grin. **_"You are!"_**

Suddenly, a red and blue blur shot out from one of the base's windows, and landed right next to the dark ahred girl. As he stood up, it was revealed to be the straw hatted boy from before. "You okay, Robin?"

"Fine, Luffy." The girl smiled at his arrival. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Morgan gorlwed like a rabid dog. **_"You…!"_**

The two stood before the opossing masses, taking separate fighting poses; Robin crossing her arms and Luffy rising his fists, readying themselves for a fight.

"Who the heck are these two?" Zoro found himself asking out loud.

Coby winced as he sat himself up from the ground, gaining Zoro's attention. He then gave the swordsman a confident grin.

 ** _"They're Luffy and Robin…The pirate couple!"_**


End file.
